Death and Archaeology
by Anubis Enfield
Summary: You'd be amazing what you can find out buried in the desert sands. That being said, sometimes there's crazier things above land, like the strange group of people claiming to be site inspectors with a blank piece of paper as their ID. Still, not as strange as the cyborg robots.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm really into Anthropology and am majoring in it. Thought it'd be neat if the Doctor actually got along with an Archaeologist in a more realistic setting. Tried to keep it as realistic as I could as far as reactions and such. Forgive me if the Arabic is wrong.**

* * *

I yawned loudly, sitting on the edge of my cot in a pair of red shorts and a grey tank top for a moment before standing up and heading into the kitchen tiredly. It wouldn't be the first time I'd woken up feeling sore and exhausted, the evening training I do down at the boxing ring always proving to be the cause of such pains, but today just was different.

"Are you up yet, Aston?!" Someone called out from outside of the small room I was in, pounding on the door. "We need to get working soon!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" I called out shuffled slightly as I started cooking up some breakfast on the stove.

I reached my left foot around to scratch the tattoo on the back of my right calf as I mentally tried to go over what I needed to do today, hoping that the Anubis etched into my skin would protect me from death once again. _Lord knows I've nearly died a few times already. Not that it was_ my _fault someone forgot to inform the local militia group at the last site._ Finishing up my food, I dropped the eggs and hash browns onto a plate and nabbed a plastic fork from the box of plastic silverware I'd brought, digging into the food as I went back to my room and searched for something to wear. Settling on some straight jeans and a white dress shirt that I rolled up the sleeves on, I set my plate aside and yanked on my boots and packed up the rest of my stuff so it would be ready for later today.

We had been out in Sudan digging up burial tombs for three months now, and today was going to be the last day we were here. Meaning that we had to fill up every hole and crevice of the dig site and haul everything we found back to England to finish our research. I was a part of the dig crew. In other words, I was a shovel bum. I was still new to the whole archaeology thing and, despite the two years of schooling, I didn't have enough hands on experience to be allowed to do much more than dig holes and put things into different piles based on things like the color or shape or style of whatever artifacts the others found. I didn't mind the grunt work though. It was better than being behind a desk, and I worked my butt of through school to get to where I was now, so I best enjoy it while it lasts; something I had learned to live by after the sort of life I've had.

Hurrying outside, I tossed my pack into the back of the truck we'd procured for the ride to the dig site and climbed into the back, smacking the top of the truck to let the driver and my fellow diggers know I was ready, before settling in for the bumpy ride there. _With_ these _eyes, it's a wonder I've made it this far._ I silently mused, pushing the memories of bullying I'd dealt with aside as I leaned against the side of the truck as I peered through the dirt being tossed up and watched the landscaping pass by. _Add that on top of loosing my parents at a young age and having to deal with a crap foster family, and people still question why I have no trust towards anyone. Lonely or not, it's best to just stay away from people if all they do is end up getting hurt or hurting me._ The truck hit a particularly large rock and I winced when my tailbone landed harshly on the truck bed.

"مشاهدته!" (Watch it!) I scolded, clicking my tongue in annoyance as the truck finally pulled off the road and over towards where the tents were set up and a guard approached us.

As one of the other workers spoke to him, I grabbed my pack and dropped it off over by the tents before grabbing a shovel with a roll of my shoulders, heading over to where a pile of dirt sat and waiting nearby until I was instructed on where to put the dirt. Eventually, I was sent to work along with the other shovel bums, and hours passed by with us shoveling dirt back into a hole until we were finally called over for lunch. Sandwiches were the meal for today, which was a nice change from the usual oatmeal and biscuits we had, and I was grateful for the beers being passed around; the group celebrating the end of a long dig. Bottles clinked as laughter rang out from the tents, but I had wandered away from the group and was looking at the artifacts we'd found laid out on a table; some already wrapped and ready for shipping.

It was the usual, really. Some pottery and coins, grave goods, and the occasional box labeled 'deceased' with the remains of a person or two found in the tomb. I looked at every piece carefully though, mind buzzing with guesses and estimations of the age of the artifacts and what it may have been used for. There was one thing though, that made me lean closer and set my bottle of beer down in the dirt as I looked it over. It appeared to be a gold ring with some jade wrapped around it along with the silver bits of an unknown metal glittering within it. I found it odd though, because most of the objects we found were from the Iron Age. Gold hadn't been discovered yet, and the area we were in had no place to get jade, without a very extensive trade network going on with Europe and Asia. Basically, it was virtually impossible than an artifact such as this could have naturally ended up among the burial tombs were had just excavated.

I glanced at the group of men and women standing around in the tent nearby, opening my mouth to ask about it, but I eventually just shut my mouth and turned away. _They're busy and what would they care about me asking something like what context this came from? I'm just a shovel bum, for one thing, and they're enjoying themselves. Which means I_ should _be able to get a closer look._ I shifted my eyes over to them, not seeing anyone paying attention to me, and I snatched some gloves from a box nearby, putting them on, before picking up the ring and looking at it closer. As I did though, I found a small indentation that seemed man-made in the jade. Being the curious person I was, I scratched at it lightly with my fingernail, only to jump and drop it when it _beeped_ and flashed a bright green for a second. Quickly, before someone could yell at me for messing with the artifacts, I picked it up and blew the dirt off it, before setting it back on the table and ripping the gloves off; stuffing them into my back pocket as I picked up my beer and went back towards the other tent. I couldn't help but give the ring one last glance though, a puzzled frown marring my features as I contemplated why an artifact of that time period would do something as modern as 'beeping'. _Either that, or the heat's finally gotten to me and I've lost my mind._ I shook my head and tugged on my right earlobe, hoping to forget the incident and actually _wanting_ to get back to shoveling dirt around if it would take my mind off the strange occurrence.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long and we were soon back to shoveling, bellies full and cheerful smiles all around. Except for me, of course. My eyes kept drifting back to the table where the artifacts were slowly being wrapped and packaged for shipping, and the sweat dripping down the back of my neck only added to the uncertain feeling welling up in my stomach since I'd seen that ring, sending chills up my spine despite the near ninety degree weather.

"You okay there, Reynolds?" A colleague asked and I jumped, before forcing on an uneasy smile.

"Y-Yeah, no. I'm fine. Just a bit... distracted, is all." I said, shifting my gaze to the table briefly, unnoticed.

"You sure? You look a little pale."

"No, no." I waved off, scooping another shovel of dirt. "I'm fine. Really." _That ring just really bothers me for some reason._

"He's right, though, Reynolds." Another colleague said, making me stop and wipe some of the sweat from my forehead. "You do look pale. You should go sit down out of the sun. Wouldn't want you to get heatstroke or something from working so hard."

I sighed, knowing that they wouldn't let up until I did what they said and begrudgingly shoved my shovel into the dirt so it stood up and out of the way.

"Alright. I'll go sit down for a bit."

"Just leave this to us." The one colleague said, grinning and showing off his arm to the other colleague who rolled her eyes at him.

Begrudgingly, I headed back over to the tents and took a seat in the shade, grabbing a water bottle from the cooler and drinking heavily; not realizing how thirsty I really was.

"Slow down there, Aston, or you might choke." My professor said, chuckling as I stopped and wiped a bit of water that had leaked out in my haste.

He was probably the only person here I actively spoke to, though we both knew our boundaries and didn't get too close to one another. We were decent friends at most, but stayed closer to good acquaintances or a teacher-student relationship.

"I saw you looking at the artifacts earlier..." He said, taking a seat beside me and grabbing a drink himself as I nearly choked on mine.

 _He saw that!? Oh man, I'm_ definitely _in trouble now._

"O-Oh, I was just... I mean, it looked interesting so..."

He laughed. "No need to panic! It's nice seeing a shovel bum take interest in them." He smiled, sipping his water before leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "So, did you find anything interesting?"

I fidgeted slightly, tugging on my earlobe in my nervousness as I debated on whether to ask about the ring or not. _There shouldn't be any problem. It's not suspicious since he knew I was over there looking at the artifacts anyway. What could it hurt?_

"There was, um, a ring. Gold, with jade and some kind of other metal? You and the others said that the tomb hadn't been disturbed until we got here, so how could that be there when everything else in the tomb was more likely dated way before that?"

"Hm." He hummed, scratching at the small graying beard he had. "We were wondering something similar. It's a bit advanced for the time period, but it's not impossible that it could've been traded from another group ahead of it's time that we haven't discovered yet." He shrugged, but gave me a small smile. "Just opens up more possibilities, I suppose."

I went to say something, but was interrupted by one of the other archaeologists heading over with a trio of people behind him.

"Heads up! These three are here for some kind of inspection!" He called out, making me frown as my professor got up, equally confused.

"Inspection? Of what? This is our last day! We're supposed to be leaving this area in a few hours. What could there be to possibly inspect?"

One of the trio stepped forward, his white shirt and red suspenders barely hidden under his brown tweed jacket, and his moppy brown hair flopping around excitedly as he grinned.

"Oh, you know..." He said, flashing some sort of ID or credentials around, too quickly for me to even see it from where I was sitting. "Just inspecting the clean up and possibly taking a look at the artifacts you found. The usual."

 _Usual? I've never heard of any sort of inspection like this, and this is the third dig I've been on. Weird._ I tuned out the conversation then, but nearly choked on my water again when my professor brought the trio over to me.

"This is Aston Reynolds. She'll show you guys around the site, though there's not much to see at this point."

I frowned over at the professor, who gave me a cheesy grin, but I got up and out of my seat and nodded towards the dig.

"Come on. Looks like I'm stuck showing you three around, but I suppose it's better than shoveling."

The trio followed after me before we were over the hole where the shovel bums were tossing dirt around.

"This is where we were digging at. Like the professor said, there's not much left now." I said with a shrug, crossing my arms over my chest and watching as the floppy haired male pulled out some kind of stick and began waving it around.

 _Scanner of some kind? I don't know. Bit weird looking, if you ask me._ I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to the red-haired woman, who stared at me in surprise for a second before smiling.

"Hi, um, what were you guys digging around here for, if I can ask? And your eyes are really cool. Are they naturally that way?"

 _Hm, Scottish? Bit different, though the moppy haired fellow was British. And always with the eye question._ "We were digging up burial tombs of an old group of semi-nomads from the Iron Age. And yes, I was born with two different eye colors."

"Right." She said, though I could sense her confusion on the topic of what we were digging, making me wonder if these people really were who they said they were.

"And there's no point in scanning for anything." I called out to the moppy haired man. "This whole site was surveyed and tested ages ago. Soil acidity and everything. It's a requirement before we're allowed to dig."

He stood upright and turned to me, tilting his head slightly as I tossed a thumb over my shoulder.

"The info on that should be over in the tents, if you want to look at it, um..."

"Oh! Introductions! I almost forgot!" He chirped, hurrying over and closing his eyes in a smile as he shook my hand. "I'm the Doctor, and that's Amy and Rory Pond. We're inspectors!"

I raised a brow, slowly slipping my hand from his. "Right..."

He opened his eyes then and I stiffened at the emerald shade looking back at me in curiosity and something else. Something older. Like he's seen too much. And I would know. I see those sorts of eyes looking at me in the mirror everyday; though one of my eyes is brown, not green.

"Heterochromia iridium." He blurted out suddenly, before grinning. "Oh, that is brilliant. Reynolds, was it?"

I nodded, unsure about this man. "Aston Reynolds, yeah."

He bobbed me on the nose. " _You_ are brilliant." He smiled, before bouncing off towards the tents. "The reports are over here?"

"Y-Y-Yeah." I stuttered out, heat trailing up to the tips of my ears as a rock settled in my stomach.

 _I... No one's ever said that before... I'm not... I've never been..._ Mind racing, I stumbled after him and the other two, coming up behind him as he frowned and donned some glasses to read over the soil reports. He soon threw them back onto the table, though, tucking his glasses back into his pocket.

"No, no, no! Nothing! But there has to be something here. I was getting readings from this very spot and there's nothing else here for miles! So where is it?" He questioned, making me forget my previous thoughts and tug on my earlobe.

"Um, any idea on what it is you're looking for? I might be able to help, seeing as I've been here for three months." I frowned then though, fidgeting slightly. "Though, I spent those months digging a hole, so asking the professor might be better."

"You spent three months digging a hole in the ground?" Amy asked in disbelief and I nodded. "What for?"

"College. I'm working on my hands-on experience. I'm studying to become an archaeologist."

"I hate archaeologists." The Doctor muttered, making me raise a brow at him back as he paced in the dirt.

"Huh, and here I was starting to like you."

He quickly turned around, hopeful and confident as he adjusted his bow-tie. "Really?"

"'Was' being the key term." I quipped back, unable to stop the small upturn of my lips at his crestfallen expression. "So what is it you're looking for then, Mr. I-Hate-Archaeologists?"

He quickly perked up and spoke at a break-neck speed. "Something odd, unusual. Something that isn't supposed to be here. Out of place. Some sort of signal or transmission or..." He suddenly stepped up to me, breaking any personal space I had as he looked me over. "You wouldn't happen to be an alien, would you?"

"Doctor!" Amy scolded, pulling him away from me as I felt any like towards this man fade.

It was as though my body had been dunked in ice cold water as voices of my past fluttered through my head.

" _Freak!"_

" _Monster!"_

" _Weirdo!"_

A scowl had quickly settled on my face, but I quickly wiped it off before the Doctor could see, turning towards the table where the artifacts were and not really caring if the trio followed me or not.

"There hasn't been any signals or transmissions or anything, but there was one strange thing." I glared over my shoulder at the group, gesturing to the tent with the table as I headed the other way. "I'll tell the professor to come over so he can tell you about it. I have to get back to shoveling."

With that, I left the trio there and went to tell the professor that they wanted to know about the ring we spoke of earlier. He looked ready to question me on why I couldn't explain, but probably sensed my mood and nodded before heading off to help them as I returned to my shovel and began aggressively packing dirt back into the hole. _Like it's_ my _fault I was born with these stupid eyes. I should've known he'd be no different._ My heart ached though, making the scowl slip into a slight disappointed frown. _There's nothing brilliant about me. Nothing._

* * *

Mitch Andrews, Aston's professor, headed over to the Doctor and the others with a nervous smile on his face, immediately knowing that the group had done something to upset Aston; which was a feat in and of itself, seeing as the woman had an anger fuse miles long.

"Sorry about that." He apologized as he headed over, coming to a stop over by the table. "Aston said you were interested in some of the artifacts?"

The red-head, Amy, nodded. "Yeah, um, she said it might be what we're looking for?"

The Doctor though, kept his eyes focused on Aston as the woman aggressively shoveled dirt, catching the professor's attention.

"I don't know what you did, but you guys must of really upset her, if she dropped this off on me." He said with a small smile as he moved to adjust some of the artifacts on the table. "It's been a while since I've seen her get angry at someone."

"What, does she just not get mad at people?" Rory questioned, finally having a chance to speak up.

Mitch nodded. "That's right. She's pretty tough and takes just about anything you throw at her. I suppose she's used to it, having to of grown up in the system, and all."

The Doctor snapped his head around at those words. "She's an orphan?"

The professor bobbed his head in agreement, though the smile on his face slipped off slightly. "Sure is. There's not much more I can tell you though. For one thing, she doesn't share much about herself. Keeps everything pretty close to her chest. Must've been tough when she was younger though."

"Why's that?" Amy asked, curious to learn more about the woman who was so closed off.

"Her eyes." Mitch replied, gesturing towards her. "Little kids don't understand a genetic impossibility like that. I wouldn't be surprised if she had a rough time." He brushed off his hands and then smiled at the trio. "Now then! What about these artifacts were you guys interested in?"

"Oh, we were looking for something out of place." Amy said, trying to get back on task since the Doctor was distracted by the shoveling woman once more.

"Ah, that must be why she mentioned the ring we found." Mitch hummed, reaching over and picking up the artifact carefully, showing the group.

Amy frowned, puzzled. "But it just looks like a ring. There's nothing special about it."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Mitch smiled. "This ring is made of gold, jade, and metal."

"So..."

" _So_ , all of the other artifacts we found were dated from around the Iron Age. Gold hadn't been discovered yet and jade can't be found in this area. That, and there's no sure possibility that the metal in this is iron. It could be silver or tin for all we know. We need to run some tests first."

Rory frowned, moving closer. "Then couldn't someone have just put it there? To throw you off or something?"

Mitch nodded. "Yes, but the dig site hadn't been disturbed before we came here. It was just as it was hundreds of thousands of years ago. No grave diggers or thieves. Nothing. This was put here when the rest of the artifacts were, which is why it's thrown us in for a loop."

The Doctor, having finally taken his eyes off Aston, moved closer, pushing Amy and Rory aside as he looked at the ring. He frowned in puzzlement for a moment, before looking up at Mitch.

"Could I..."

Mitch passed him some rubber gloves and the Doctor put them on before picking up the ring and pulling a magnifying glass out of his pocket to look at it in better detail.

"Oh dear." He muttered, drawing everyone's attention to him, as he put away the magnifying glass and took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the ring in his hand. "That's not good."

Mitch looked at him confused. "What is it?"

The Doctor ignored his question and showed him the ring sternly. "Has anyone touched this? _Without_ gloves?"

Mitch frowned, puzzled. "Not that I know of. We handle any and all artifacts while wearing gloves because the oils from our hands could cause them to deteriorate. Because they're sitting out in the open though, anyone here could've touched it without gloves and we may not have noticed. Why? Is it dangerous?"

"Yes, it's dangerous. One touch of this, and you wouldn't be able to get it out of your head. You'd constantly be thinking of it until you had to steal it. It's made of Enamour. Does exactly what the name says and causes the person who touches it to become enamored with it. This sort of thing has caused _wars_." He said, waving it at Mitch, before he went and scanned it again, looking at the results with a frown. "And it's giving off some sort of signal."

"What sort of signal?" Amy asked, moving closer to look at the ring too.

"I don't know. Let's find out." He smirked, adjusting the settings on his sonic before aiming at at the ring. "I'll amplify it's signal and it should—"

He was cut off as the ring let out an ear-piercing screech and the group flinched back, covering their ears, until he stopped; giving the object a small frown.

"Well, that wasn't right."

Amy smacked him hard on the shoulder. "You idiot! You nearly blew out our eardrums!"

"I needed to see where the signal was going!" The Doctor argued.

"Oh yeah?! Did you even find out where?!"

He opened his mouth, but snapped it shut with a pout. "No! But it's got to be close!"

Amy rolled her eyes, throwing up her hands. "Of course."

It was then though, that the group heard shouting and all heads turned towards the group of shovel bums to see one of the women holding Aston off the ground with a hand around her throat.

"Aston!"

* * *

I must say, I hardly expected my female coworker—who was half my size—to lift me off the ground with her hand wrapped tightly around my throat. _Didn't think I'd die like this._ I mused, choking and gasping as I tried to get air into my lungs, black spots appearing in the corner of my vision. My thoughts suddenly changed direction though, as my fight or flight response kicked in and, being unable to flee, my body quickly chose fight. I grabbed her wrist and grit my teeth as I forced my body to twist and threw a foot solidly into the side of her head. I was dropped as she stumbled back, leaving me wheezing on the ground as I got up and scrambled away from her, not willing to have a repeat of what I'd just experienced. I couldn't help but look back though, to see what kind of damage I'd done to my colleague, only for my mouth to drop open in shock at the flesh that slipped off the side of her face to reveal some kind of robotics.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." I breathed out, coughing as I made my way back over to where the others were at; turning my back to the... thing.

"Aston! Look out!"

I heard the Doctor's call and quickly turned to see the robot practically on top of me as it swung a fist at my head. Eyes wide, my training kicked in and I swiveled around and twisted out of the way of the punch; instincts causing me to reflectively swing an arm around to punch it in the kidney. Or, where the kidney would be if it were a person. All I managed to do though, was really hurt my hand as it connected with solid metal.

"Son of a—"

"Physical attacks won't work!" The Doctor called out and I turned to him with a scowl as I waved my hand about with a wince.

"You think?!" I ducked under it's arm again, focusing on dodging as I shouted at him as best I could with my bruised throat. "What the hell am I supposed to do?!"

"I-I don't know! Distract it!" He shouted, making me roll my eyes.

"Like I'm not doing that already?!" I shouted back, grimacing as my throat ached and I was clipped in the arm by a swing from the robot.

It hurt like hell, even though it was just a clip, but I pushed aside the pain and dealt with it as best I could. I pretended I was fighting in a tournament, blocking out everything except the robot in front of me and dodging it's blows as I tried to think of where a weak point could possibly be on it. _Robot. Robot, come on brain, think! The head and side are solid metal and I wouldn't be surprised if the limbs and torso are as well, so punching those won't have any effect other than possibly breaking my hand._ Suddenly, my eyes widened as I realized where I might be able to hit in order to have a chance against this thing. _The joints! If I can wreck the joints, then I might have a chance!_

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and started fighting back. I dodged another punch and twisted, slamming my leg into the side of the robot's knee, but it wasn't enough. Grimacing at the pain that ran up my shin at the kick, I righted myself and tried a different tactic. The robot swung a kick at my head—having started copying my moves somewhere along the way—and I swiftly brought up my arm to block it; gritting my teeth when it hit hard against my forearm. But this was what I wanted and, with my other hand, I grabbed the appendage and twisted it, before slamming it against my knee as I rammed my leg upwards; forcing its knee to bend in the opposite direction with a loud ' _snap_ '. The robot fell to the ground, before getting up to look at its twisted and dangling limb, and then looking back at me. _Okay, with this, it can't kick me anymore. Not only that, but it's mobility is limited. Now, if I can get its arms like that, then—_

All thoughts of that were dashed though, when the robot charged to me even _faster_ than before, slamming a metal fist into my ribs as I tried desperately to block it; to no avail. I felt my ribs crack and break from the force of the hit, as I was knocked back into the dirt; unable to get up from the pain. My breaths shortened into short gasps of air as I blearily opened my eyes at see the robot heading my way once more. Forcing myself to sit up partially, I tried to shuffle away with an arm draped over my side; the taste of blood in my mouth making me worried as well as the sharp pain that ran up my side and back. The robot stood tall before me, raising a fist to hit me, but a high pitched whirring sound came to my ears and I opened my eyes—which had closed sometime before—to see the robot twitching and shaking, until smoke rose up from its head and it collapsed backwards into the dirt, giving me a chance to let out a short sigh of relief.

* * *

"Ha!" The Doctor shouted, bouncing up and down on his feet as he finally stopped his sonic from emitting the screeching noise that had incapacitated the robot. "Oh, I am _good_!"

Amy rolled her eyes as the Doctor went on to explain what he'd done.

"Increased the signal emitting from the ring a hundred thousand times over, frying the robot's transmitter!" He grinned, before turning to Aston to see her reaction.

Thing was, she hadn't gotten up from where she was sitting a ways away and was slightly hunched over and shaking. The Doctor frowned, stepping forward a bit.

"Something's wrong."

"What?" Amy questioned, not sure what he was going on about now, but knowing that it must be serious if the Doctor had stopped celebrating so soon.

"Something's wrong!" He shouted, rushing over to where Aston was and skidding to a halt and kneeling to look at her. "Aston! Aston, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him and tried to speak, but only a wheezy choke sound came out and she clenched her eyes shut and gripped her side as she shook slightly. Immediately, the Doctor could see how her skin had taken on a slight blue hue, and his mind ran at a rapid fire pace as he realized what had happened and tried to figure out what he needed to do. The others ran over then and Mitch hurried to her side, placing a hand lightly on her shoulder and looking her over before the Amy spoke.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I-I don't know." The Doctor sputtered out, trying to think. "Broken ribs? Punctured lung? She was hit by the robot, remember?" The Doctor snapped his fingers at Mitch. "Where's the nearest hospital?"

Mitch looked up and shook his head, trying to remember. "U-Um, the nearest one is nearly an hour long drive North of here."

"An hour?" The Doctor said in disbelief, standing and starting to pace as he ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, think, think. She'll slip into cardiac arrest in the next..." He checked his watch. "Oh, _seven_ minutes? We don't have time to take her to the hospital. So the only other option is..."

He paused, looking down at Aston who looked back at him with worried, tired eyes; the first sign of true emotion he'd seen from her since he'd met her. Immediately, he'd made his choice and reached down towards her.

"I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt." He whispered, before picking her up quickly and as gently as he could; still managing to entice a quiet gasp of pain from the woman.

Mitch quickly stood, worried for his young charge. "What are you going to do with her?"

"Take her to my ship. I have a med center there and can fix her up, but I don't have any more time." He said in rapid fire, turning and running towards where he parked the Tardis, doing what he could to keep from jostling Aston too much. "Amy, Rory! I'm going to need your help! Come on!"

The duo glanced at one another, before nodding and taking off, leaving a very confused professor and the corpse of a dead robot left at the grave site. Upon entering the Tardis, Aston was rushed to the med center and placed on a table as she started going into shock; the Doctor rushing around and getting what he needed as he barked orders to Amy and Rory.

"Amy, do what you can to keep Aston calm and as still as possible! Rory, get her hooked up to an IV!"

They both went to do what he said, Amy brushing the hair from Aston's forehead and whispering that she was going to be alright as Rory got the IV ready. Once the IV was in place, the Doctor rushed over to it and injected some sort of violet liquid, before wringing his hands nervously and muttering under his breath.

"Come on, come on, come on."

Aston soon stopped shaking and her breathing evened out as her eyes closed, making the Doctor grin and move about to the other side of the table, pressing some buttons on the side and waving Amy and Rory away from it.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked.

"I just gave her something to re-inflate her collapsed lung and seal the hole that her broken ribs managed to create."

Rory frowned. "But shouldn't she need extensive surgery to move her ribs back into place?"

"Nope!" The Doctor chirped, pressing one more button as a cover slowly moved over Aston. "Because _this_ will do it for me."

The table Aston was on—now covered and looking more like a tube than a table—began to have small gold lights floating around inside. The Doctor beamed happily as Amy and Rory watched in fascination as the golden lights covered Aston's side and a part of her arm, hands and legs, glowing brilliantly and some sinking into her skin and disappearing.

"What are they?"

"Nanogenes." The Doctor supplied. "They're sub-atomic robots that races like the Chula use to heal wounds. They can even replace appendages. They're the cure all for injuries, though the severity of the injury depends on how long they take to fix it and they need to have the right template to go by, or else they fix you in an entirely different way."

"Uh, what do you mean, 'entirely different way'?" Rory asked, worried for the woman now dealing with healing robots.

"Well, this one time an ambulance of these guys landed on Earth and escaped, healing a child wearing a gas mask. Thing is, they thought the gas mask was part of the kid, so when they went on to heal others, they grew gas mask faces." He chirped, remembering the incident happily.

That _was_ after all, the day everyone could be saved. No one died. Not even Jack Harkness.

"She's not going to, uh, grow a mask face, right?"

The Doctor waved a hand, nodding. "Oh, no. She'll be right as rain in about ten hours."

"Ten hour—Shouldn't we return her to her dig site? We can't just _borrow_ her for ten hours." Amy commented, giving the Doctor a look.

"Oh..." He paused, smile dropping off his face. "I didn't think of that."

"Of _course_ not." Amy said with a roll of her eyes, reaching over and grabbing the Doctor's arm and tugging him out of the med bay. "Come on then. We've got to at least tell her professor, if we're just going to take her with us."

 _That_ perked the Doctor up. "We can keep her?"

Amy rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "She's not a dog! But... I wouldn't mind having another woman on board."

"Wait. We're taking her _with_ us?" Rory questioned as the trio exited the Tardis and headed back to the dig site.

The Doctor turned to hum with a shrug and a smile. "Why not?"

"Um, for one thing, she doesn't know about the whole alien thing. And she's unconscious! Isn't this technically kidnapping?"

"It's _not_ kidnapping." The Doctor drawled out. "We're helping her! Who wants to sit around and dig holes for months at a time, eh?"

"Um, maybe she does?" Rory said, accusingly. "Doesn't she get a say in this?"

"Sure!" The Doctor smiled. "As soon as she wakes up."

Rory sighed, tossing his hands up. "That's _not_ what I meant!"

"Oh, Rory." Amy said with a roll of her eyes. "If worse comes to worse, she can say she doesn't want to and we'll drop her off at home. No harm done."

"No harm done? She was nearly _killed_ by some robot thing! How are we going to explain _that_!?"

"Can't be that hard." The Doctor chirped happily. "We'll just explain it when we explain my being an alien and the Tardis being a space and time machine."

"And by 'we' you mean 'me'." Rory grumbled and the Doctor simply tossed a grin over his shoulder as they approached the tents and the professor hurried up to them.

"Is she alright?"

"Perfectly fine." The Doctor grinned. "We just need to keep her until she's completely healed. I'm sure that won't be a problem, professor?"

The man shook his head. "Oh no. That's fine. I'll go ahead and inform the college that she'll be on leave due to a medical emergency." He said, relieved a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck with a small chuckle. "Though I doubt she'll be happy about it. She's always been an active one. Eager to do just about anything so long as she was kept busy." He commented, packing away some of his tools. "I once found her in the lab sorting pieces of pottery for nearly two days straight, before I sent her home to get some sleep."

"That seems kind of strange." Amy said and the professor nodded.

"That's her. Strange in every sense of the word. Quiet, talks only when she needs to, and when she's focused..." Mitch let out a long whistle. "Whoo. It takes an army to snap her out of it. Always busy though. Those moves you saw earlier?" He nodded towards where Aston had been attacked by the robot. "She trains in kick boxing. Heard she used to do tournaments up until the accident. Screwed up her knee. She still works hard though."

"Accident?" The Doctor questioned, his curiosity getting ahead of him.

Mitch nodded. "Yeah. Car accident. Probably still blames herself, but it's her story to tell though, not mine." He waved off, before giving the Doctor a look. "Will she be staying with you then?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah. I have a, uh, extra room so she'll be fine."

Mitch gave him a look, but eventually nodded. "That's good. It's good she's got someone to watch over her. She may not show it, but..." He paused, sighing softly. "It gets to you, you know? Being alone for so long..."

The Doctor nodded, all hints of a smile gone and serious taking it's place; knowing this better than anyone. "Yes... Yes, I know." He turned away then, waving over his shoulder with his usual smile back on his face. "We'll take good care of her!"

Mitch nodded and waved back, his own smile slowly returning. "Just make sure to bring her back! She's my hardest worker!"

"I'm sure she is." The Doctor hummed, the group of them heading back to the Tardis as he mentally hummed. _Aston Reynolds... hm..._


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up, I shifted, expecting to feel pain race up my side, but all I felt was a slight tingling numbness. I furrowed my brows and closed my eyes, trying to remember what happened after I was hit and the Doctor picked me up. _And how come I never got an actual name from him? He can't just be called 'the Doctor'._ I pushed the thought aside and tried to focus. _Okay, brain, think. He picked me up—which hurt, by the way. I'll have to give him hell for that when or if I see him again... Focus!_ I frowned, bringing a hand up to tug on my earlobe. _Okay, so he picked me up and took me somewhere. Where did he take me? I can't... I only remember blue and then... lights and someone brushing my hair back and whispering something. Ugh, this is pointless._ Begrudgingly, I lowered my hand and let out a sigh, gently pushing myself up into a sitting position on the—surprisingly comfy—table I had been lying on.

"Weird." I murmured under my breath, before pushing myself off the table carefully and testing my legs.

Once I felt good enough to walk around the room a bit, taking my IV stand with me, I headed for the door; determined to get some answers as to where I was and if I could leave. I expected to be in some sort of hospital, but when I opened the door and stared down a long hallway that was tinted a sort of orange color with some circular lights on the wall, I got the sinking feeling that I wasn't in a hospital, much less a house. I stepped backwards back into the room I was in and closed the door, feeling panic well up in me. _No. No panicking. Just calm down, deep breath._ I pressed my forehead against the door and breathed in deeply before letting it out, carefully removing my IV. _Good. Panicking won't solve anything. Just walk out there and find someone who can explain what's going on. Or a kitchen. I think some a soda or something would be very much appreciated at this point. Yeah. Soda calms me down. Sh. Focus._

I opened the door again only to see the Doctor there, making me flinch as he grinned and held up a hand in a wave.

"Hello!"

By reflex, I slammed the door shut in his face and pressed my back up against it to keep him from entering the room, not realizing that I had hit him in the nose with the door once I did. I suddenly frowned. _What am I doing? He might know the answers to my questions!_ I opened the door again and gave him a serious look.

"Where am I?"

He pointed a finger at me accusingly. "You hit me with the door!"

I gave him a bored look, though my heart was racing in my ribcage. " _You_ shouldn't have been standing so close."

"I came to check up on you!" He argued, a hand still holding his nose.

I ignored him and repeated my question. "Where am I? Not a hospital, obviously. The interior decorating says that much."

"What's wrong with my decorating?!"

I looked him over, once more taking in the bow-tie and tweed jacket that gave off a 'history teacher' vibe.

"Really? You're wearing a bow-tie and suspenders. You obviously need help with fashion _and_ interior design."

"Bow-ties are cool!" He argued, pouting childishly and I couldn't help the slight upturn of my lip.

 _He's so... weird. It's kind of… endearing._ _Ew, what am I thinking? He looks like a five-year-old in his grandfather's clothes. Shut up brain._ I looked up and down the hall, before gesturing randomly to my right.

"Is the kitchen this way?"

"Yes, and I want an apology!" He said as I turned and started heading down the hall with him following after me after a pause; having then realized what I said. "Wait, why are you looking for the kitchen?"

"I'm hungry." I said, coming to another split off in the hallway and choosing to go right this time.

The Doctor didn't stop me, so I assumed I was still heading the right way.

"And I want a soda. Helps me relieve stress." I stopped suddenly and turned to him with a look. "And why should I apologize?"

"You hit me with the door!" He said indignantly, hands waving about in a blur.

"Oh." I turned away and kept on walking. "I would, but last I checked, you nearly got me killed by some robot, apparently kidnapped me, and haven't explained any of this. If anything, I think _I_ deserve an apology and some answers first, before I go about apologizing for bumping your nose with the door."

I passed an open door, but quickly back tracked and peeked in, smiling slightly upon having found the kitchen.

"Ah-ha. Perfect."

Once in, I went straight to the fridge to see what the Doctor had lying around to eat and found myself pleasantly surprised by the bottle of my favorite soda, a box of strawberries and a whipped cream container waiting inside. My stomach gurgled at the sight and I poked my head out to look at the Doctor grumbling to himself on a stool nearby.

"Can I have this?"

He gave me a look. "Why are you asking? I figured you'd just take whatever, seeing as you're so adamant about not apologizing."

I rolled my eyes, leaning my elbows on the door of the fridge and resting my chin on my arms. "I'll apologize when I feel you deserve it. And I'm only asking, because this seems to be your fridge with your food inside. I may be a bit abrasive, but I'm not entirely without manners. Though I suppose I should thank you for saving my life from that robot thing and fixing me up. So thanks."

He gave me a look, but I could see curiosity in his eyes as he waved a hand for me to go ahead at the food in the fridge.

"You are a very strange person, Miss Reynolds." He said and I set my contraband on the table with a raised brow as he went on. "You were attacked by a robot masquerading as one of your friends—"

"Colleagues." I interrupted, earning another strange look from him. "Go on."

"Masquerading as one of your _colleagues_ , nearly died, and woke up in a strange place with a strange person you just met. And the first thing you do is find the kitchen and gorge yourself on fruit and a carbonated beverage."

"It's... not the first time I've been called different." I muttered, doing my best to keep my cool this time around as I found a small knife and began cutting the tops off the strawberries. "And like I said, I'm hungry and want answers. Just because I'm not outwardly panicking doesn't mean that I'm not the slightest bit effected by what happened." I glanced up at him, my multicolored eyes locking with his green ones. "I just hide it better than most." I looked back down at what I was doing and held out one of the red fruits. "Strawberry?"

He hesitated, but took it, plopping it in his mouth as he watched me return to cutting.

"Your professor was right."

"How's that?" I asked, wondering what _that_ crazy man had told _this_ crazy man.

"You like to keep busy." He said, gesturing to my slightly shaking hands.

I let out a bitter chuckle. "You caught me. Yeah. I keep busy to keep my mind off things that trouble me." I waved the knife at my head. "Mind runs a mile a minute all the time. If I'm not using it for something, then I get thinking about things and grow depressed. I find it's better just to distract myself. I wouldn't be surprised if you do the same."

He stiffened slightly at that, and I knew I had caught him, just as he had caught me.

"Your eyes give it away." I commented, shaking the whipped cream can and spraying some onto a strawberry carefully. "You've got your own problems to deal with. Ones I'm not going to pry into. But I can see it, you know. Not like your companions who miss it. Not their fault. They just don't know what to look for. I'm different though." I glanced his way, cautiously, knowing that I could be stepping on a land mine. "Something tells me we're pretty similar. You hide everything behind that happy, childish exterior and I hide mine behind a tough, no-nonsense mask. But we've got the same eyes. Haunted, pained, lonely." I gave him a small smile. "Not that I'm an expert or anything. And like I said, I won't pry. Everyone's got their secrets."

We settled into a light silence. Light in the way that neither one of us wished to say much of anything. The topic was dropped and we shared whipped cream covered strawberries quietly. Not uncomfortable or anything. Just... quiet. Of course, it didn't last long before we were found and the silence was broken by a curious red-head.

"There you two are! We've been looking all over for you!" She stomped over to the Doctor as Rory headed over by me and I passed him a strawberry; which he took with a slight smile. "You're lucky the Tardis led us here, or we might have been looking forever!"

"Tardis?" I questioned, my curiosity having returned now that my stomach was being taken care of and the silence had disappeared.

Amy turned to me and then back to the Doctor, smacking him on the arm. "You haven't told her yet?! You were supposed to tell her!"

"I was going to!" He whined, cradling his arm. "I just... haven't gotten around to it."

"Uh-huh. Sure." She rolled her eyes and pulled up a chair, accepting a strawberry I passed her and giving me a look. "Well, you've got questions. Everyone does. So fire away."

I nodded, thinking for a moment to figure out what I wanted to know and what order I would ask my questions. _Well, first thing's first._

"Tardis?" I asked and Amy went to explain but the Doctor beat her to it.

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Tardis. My ship." He smiled. "She's a—"

I cut him off. "Let me guess... a space and time machine?"

He looked at me in surprise, as did the other two.

"How did you..."

"It's in the name." I muttered, turning my gaze down to the bottle of soda in my hands, uncomfortable with how they were looking at me before glancing back up at him with a raised brow. "'She'?"

He nodded and I furrowed my brows a bit.

"Like how a kid names his first car, right? Car's a girl 'cause she's got a sweet temperament, but can get a bit fussy when she doesn't have the newest parts. Computer's a guy because he's a bit snippy with virus protectors and thinks he can do what he wants. Like that?"

The Doctor frowned, confused. " _No_. The Tardis is a she. She's a sentient being."

"Ah." I nodded, understanding the word immediately. "So she can get in your head and figure you out. Like my preference in comfort foods." I said, gesturing to the remaining strawberries.

"Exactly." The Doctor smiled, before turning to the Ponds. "Why can't everyone understand this so easily?"

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh, probably because they were in too much shock at being in a time and space machine? Or, you know, being attacked by aliens? Or maybe it's just because you use words that no one understands!"

"Point taken." He muttered, pouting once more as I returned to questioning him.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?" He hummed, turning his attention back to me.

"Just... Doctor. No last name, first name, anything?"

He shook his head with a grin. "Nope. Just the Doctor."

I eyed him suspiciously. "A Doctor who isn't a doctor, but an archaeological site investigator?"

"Ah, no. Doctor's just a title. My real name is too complicated for human language." He explained, though I got the feeling that it's the first time he's mentioned this, because Amy and Rory were watching him in avid interest. "And the investigator bit was because of this."

He dug around in his pocket for a bit, before pulling out a wallet with a piece of paper in it, sliding it across the table. I hesitated, but picked it up, opening it and looking at the paper.

"Psychic paper." He chirped happily, trying to impress me. "Says whatever I want it to and gets me into places like R rated movies!"

"So a changeable ID." I said, flipping the wallet around and looking at it from another angle. "But why's it blank?"

"What?!" The Doctor snatched it from me and Rory and Amy leaned over his shoulders to look at it.

"No." Rory pointed at the paper. "It says right here, 'Doctor John Smith, archaeological site investigator'."

"It was blank when I saw it." I shrugged, though internally, I felt that sick feeling well up at being different.

That was the one thing I hated. I tried to be a normal as possible, to not get involved in things society wouldn't approve of, because then I'd be singled out more than I already was. I just wanted to be normal and if that was impossible, then I at least didn't want to be alone. _But I can't have either one of those, can I?_

"Oh, this just proves it." The Doctor said, giving me a small smile as his green eyes sparked with excitement. "You are _brilliant_ , Aston Reynolds."

 _He's doing it again. I'm not brilliant. I'm strange, weird, a freak. Just because I'm different doesn't mean I'm special. Least... not in a good way. Being different only causes more problems. So stop it. Don't call me that, because I'm not... I can't be..._

"Uh... huh." I muttered, not convinced of that the slightest bit, so I changed the topic. "What happened at the dig site? With the ring and the... robot thing. What was that?"

"Oh, well, the ring you guys found had been given to whoever's burial tomb you guys dug up. Some alien or something probably gave it to them as a gift or it might have just fell from the sky." The Doctor said, eyeing me for some reason. "You guys found it and someone activated the signal on it, letting the android know where it was."

I furrowed my brows, though I stiffened, knowing that I had been the one to activate it. "So... why didn't the robot attack earlier? And how long had it been pretending to be..." I trailed off, suddenly realizing that I hadn't even known my colleague's name and guilt filled my stomach.

"Well, most likely, the robot had been pretending to be that person since they found out about the dig site. The signal the ring gave off was faint, and even when someone activated it, it was still pretty faint. It was only after I... accidentally increased the signal that the android assumed that the ring was being taken or that it was under attack. So it fought back."

"By trying to kill me." I grumbled, drinking some more soda and being glad that the bruising on my neck had faded almost completely thanks to whatever the Doctor had done to heal me. "And you keep saying aliens, so I'm guessing you three are?"

"Oh no. Not us." Amy said, gesturing to herself and Rory. "The Doctor is though."

I quickly turned to him as he beamed an innocent smile at me, though I felt worried that I was possibly sharing a room with an alien. _I gave him my strawberries... I just shared strawberries with an_ alien _! Oh man... Ohmanohmanohman._ I could feel my heart rate increase to a break neck pace and I shifted my eyes down to my soda once more, trying to lighten the grip I had on it so that my knuckles weren't the ashy white color I'd made them in my panic. _Okay, calm down. Can't have a freak out here. But my God, this is a lot to take in. Aliens, robots, time and space travel, ancient rings falling from space, and sentient machines? And I'm supposed to believe this?_ I remembered the room I'd woken up in and how the machinery in there wasn't familiar, and the hallway, which looked nothing like anything I'd ever seen. Not to mention the constant humming that seemed to echo around the whole _ship_. _How can I_ not _believe this? But it's impossible!... No, they could be from the future, but... he's an alien! And they're... human, but traveling with him? I-I don't...I need to figure this out. I need some form of concrete evidence. Something I'm used to._ Anything _that can help me out here!_

"Aston?"

I snapped my head up, looking at Amy to see the worry plain on her features as she leaned towards me a bit.

"You alright there? You got really quiet."

I nodded, though my mind was still racing with disbelief and panic. "Yeah. Fine. Just... zoned out for a minute." I then turned to the Doctor, hiding my fear as I furrowed my brows. "You're an alien."

"Yup." He smiled, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

"Species?"

"Time Lord."

 _Oh great. A lord._ _He looks human though._ Another side of my brain argued with me however. _But who knows how long they've been around without us knowing. We might look like them. Hell, they might look like some other alien somewhere. Humans have only been studying space since the 1970 moon landing. Other than telescopes and mapping of stars. God, I hate culture shock._

"Can I go home?" I suddenly asked, not really even noticing what I'd said until it'd already came out of my mouth.

The Doctor's smile fell off and he gave me a worried look. "Why? Do you... _want_ to go home?"

I opened my mouth, but suddenly stopped, unable to speak. _Do I? There's nothing for me at home. Sure, my education and such, but I don't have any family or friends. But... why am I here with the Doctor in the first place? He healed me, sure, but now what?_

"Why am I still here?" I asked instead of answering his question, my voice taking on a childish sort of innocence. "I'm healed, so... _shouldn't_ you take me back?"

The three of them exchanged glances and something about the way they looked at each other made me uncomfortable. I don't know what it was, but a part of me just wanted to get up and leave. Run off and try to make sense of everything that had just been thrown at me, because I was confused. I hardly knew these people and yet here they were talking to me like we were good friends. Hell, _I_ was talking to them like we were friends. I just slipped into a comfortable state of mind that I hadn't had in years. And I could already feel myself opening up to these three strangers and that scared me. More than I knew. Because if I let them in, they could get hurt. _I_ could get hurt. And I didn't want to let them in. But I did.

A part of me was so lonely. It longed for human contact the same way I longed for someone who understood me and didn't see me as something strange or different. I just wanted to have something normal, but everything around me always turned out to be the exact opposite of that. If anything, this only proved it more. Aliens and androids and crazy machines that I could never even think of imagining, and I was stuck in the middle of it. Like a lost child separated from their parents in a crowded shopping center. Except I couldn't cry or scream or ask for someone to help me. Because I'd been lost for so long I'd given up hope. Hope for normalcy, for love, for companionship, for peace of mind. I was alone and my heart was tearing itself apart because it didn't know whether it wanted to continue this way, or take up something new. _What do I do?_

I stood up suddenly, my chair making a loud scraping sound as it slid along the floor, drawing everyone's attention to me. My mouth opened and closed a few times, wordlessly as my panicked mind tried to sort out what I was trying to say and what I was even doing. I wasn't even _aware_ of what I was doing or why I had stood. But I did, and I had to do something. _Now_.

"I-I, um... I'm just going to..." I pointed at the door, shuffling around the table as the trio watched me with those looks.

Those same damn looks that I got from people my whole life. Like something was wrong. Wrong with me. Wrong with what I was doing. Everything was wrong and different than what they expected, what society expected. And I just couldn't take it anymore. I closed my mouth and turned away, walking quickly from the room and, just as I rounded the corner, I took off in a run.

* * *

The Doctor quickly got up the moment Aston left the room and rushed to the door, calling out her name as he pushed it open and spotted the edge of her shoe round the corner down the hall.

"Aston! Aston, wait!"

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, coming up behind him as he let out a sigh and pulled a hand through his hair anxiously. "Why'd she run off like that?"

"I don't know." The Doctor replied, Rory getting up to join the two. "My guess is it's culture shock. Dumped too much on her at once."

"But she was taking it pretty well." Rory said, slightly confused. "I mean, she didn't faint, o-or scream, or anything. She looked like she was fine with it up until we mentioned you being an alien. Then she suddenly wanted to go home."

"Of _course_ she wanted to go home." The Doctor grumbled, mind running a mile a minute as he turned to face the two. "But probably not for the reason you think."

"Uh, okay. You lost me." Amy said, confused. " _Why_ did she want to go home?"

"It's a reflex. A-A coping mechanism." He explained, waving a hand around nonchalantly, though he was still worried about Aston. "You saw her. She almost didn't believe she'd said anything and immediately changed the topic to something else. That was her subconscious shouting out for something familiar." The Doctor hit himself in the forehead. "Ah, that was the first sign! I should've noticed! Stupid! Stupid!"

Amy raised a brow, still lost. "Okay. Human still lost here. What's going on? First sign of what?"

"Culture shock." The Doctor said, rambling quickly. "She wasn't showing it. She's so used to hiding everything that any shock o-or surprise or disbelieve got shoved back inside her so she could take in as much as she could. She's a rational thinker. Gathers all the evidence before going through it at her own pace and deciding where to go from there. Only problem is, she's used to being in her own environment. Someplace familiar where she can be on her own and do things her way. _Here_ , she has none of that."

The Doctor went back into the kitchen and picked up the box of strawberries that had been nearly emptied.

"That's why she came here. 'Comfort food' she called it, remember? That was her trying to find something she can distract herself with."

"Something familiar." Amy muttered, starting to understand.

The Doctor nodded and dropped the plastic box back onto the table. "Exactly. We've thrown everything at her all at once because we thought she was just accepting it—"

"But she was just taking it all in." Rory said, realization dawning on him as well.

"Right. She didn't have time to processes it. Didn't have anywhere to go that was comfortable to her in order to sort things out in her head. We just kept filling her up until she couldn't hold any more."

The Doctor sat down on the stool he'd been in and dropped his face into his hands as guilt welled up within him. He was worried, scared that he'd frightened Aston off before she'd experienced anything. There was something about her that he liked and he couldn't quite place it, but she was clever, cunning, special, different, and lonely. The discussion he'd had with her before Amy and Rory had come in only further proved how much he wanted to have her come along traveling with them. She'd figured him out, just as he had figured her out, but wouldn't ask anything he didn't want her to. She never said _he_ couldn't pry into her life, but she was willing to stay out of his without questioning anything. And he really liked that about her. She was so much like him, but so different as well. And a part of him just wanted to break past that tough outer shell she put up and find out what the _true_ Aston was like. Just peel her away layer by layer to expose the soft underbelly he knew she had. And he got the feeling she wanted someone to do that for her. That she _wanted_ someone to see that other side that she kept so hidden all this time. And he may have just possibly ruined that in this moment by trying to forcefully stuff her with too much at once.

"Doctor?" Rory gave him a worried look as he lifted his head slightly. "Why didn't she just tell us? You know, to slow down or give her a minute or something?"

"We barely know her." He said quietly, lowering his hands to the table and picking at his fingernails. "To her, we're just strangers who happened to help her with a problem. Now, we're suddenly telling her all these things that _any_ human would find unbelievable and asking her to stay with us. Three people she doesn't even know, in a place that's completely new to her, no questions asked. She doesn't see a downside, that much is obvious, but..."

"But?" Amy questioned, having joined him at the table.

He glanced over at her with a saddened expression. "It's too good to be true."

He pushed himself off the stool and made for the door once more, Amy and Rory scrambling to follow after him, but stopping in the doorway as he walked on.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Amy called out as he neared the end of the hall.

"To find her."

"But you said so yourself. She's trying to figure it all out, right? Shouldn't we leave her alone?" Rory questioned and the Doctor paused just before he turned the corner.

"That is the _last_ thing we should do."

He walked off and Amy and Rory shared a look of worry, before he poked his head back around the corner, surprising them and making them jump when he spoke again.

"I'll find her. You two go do..." He made a face. "...whatever it is you do when I'm not around."

With that, he went back down the hall and Amy frowned, sticking her bottom lip out in a slight pout.

"Stupid git."

"I heard that!" Came his distant call, making Amy flinch before crossing her arms over her chest and smacking Rory on the arm when she caught sight of his small smile.

"Shut up."

* * *

The Doctor searched as many rooms as he could, wondering where Aston could've gone and if she'd gotten lost or had stumbled into a more dangerous room. The Doctor winced, hoping that the Tardis had prevented her from walking into one of those rooms. Speaking of which, he had a feeling that the Tardis was helping Aston hide from him, frustrating the man who just wanted to help. Finally, he started hearing the sounds of something happening in a repeated fashion. Some of the 'thumping' noises happening in quick succession before there would be a pause and another set of the same noises would happen again, but more or less in number or at different speeds. With furrowed brows, the Doctor followed the noises in curiosity until he stumbled upon a door he hadn't seen in quite some time; actually having forgotten it was even still in the Tardis. Quietly, so as not to bother who he suspected was in the room, he pushed the door open and went into the Tardis gym, catching sight of who he'd been looking for as she pounded away on a punching bag.

He watched silently as Aston went through a series of different rounds of punching and kicking, sweat building up on her brow as she released the tension that had coiled up in her body after what they'd told her. This was her release, he realized. While he would fiddle with parts of the Tardis that didn't usually need fixing, Aston exercised vigorously. It was her way of relieving stress and doing something. This—despite not being at home or someplace 'comfortable'—was her own personal space. Her home away from home. It was something she had trained her body into doing time and time again. Something that—no matter where she was—she could find comfort in it and it could help her keep her head in tough situations such as this. Just then though, Aston let out a hiss of pain and dropped to a knee, taking the gloves off her hands and gripping her other knee with a muttered curse, making the fond smile that had appeared on the Doctor's face slip off. Because he had suddenly realized that, due to her knee, even _this_ wasn't as healing for Aston as it could be. Hesitantly, he approached as she stood and tested her weight on the appendage.

"Are you alright?"

She flinched slightly, glancing over her shoulder at him as she used the edge of her shirt to wipe the sweat from her face, before turning away.

"I'm fine. Just my knee complaining about working it too hard. It happens."

She walked off to the side where there was a bench and plopped down on it, picking up a water bottle that hadn't been there before and drinking some. She soon set it down as the Doctor moved to sit beside her and she gestured to the ceiling.

"Your, uh... ship is very... nice for showing me this place."

The Doctor smiled a bit, some of his worry easing away at hearing Aston speaking of the Tardis as more of a 'she' than an 'it'. She apparently had sorted out some of the things they'd told her.

"She probably knew you needed something like this to relax and just led you the right way." He explained, before looking down at his intertwined hands. "I am... sorry, for not seeing that you were having some trouble earlier."

Aston shook her head. "It's fine. I overreacted and... it's not like I'm someone who's easy to read."

She attempted a small smile, but the Doctor could see it was forced and spoke up.

"No, no, no. You didn't overreact. It's culture shock. Happens to the best of us. And... I should know better than to read someone at only face value." He gave her a small smile as well, before a silence overcame them.

He knew Aston didn't want to continue their earlier discussion, but he couldn't help but bring it up, if only to help her through whatever leftover issues she was possibly dealing with.

"Do you, um, have any other questions? I promise not to just throw it all at you this time."

"Just... Just one." She said, looking down at her hands that were wrapped around the water bottle between her knees, before looking up at him with hesitation and curiosity lining her mismatched eyes. "Is there... anyway you can _prove_ any of this? This whole thing being real?"

He tilted his head slightly, kind of surprised that Aston would ask that of all things, but seeing the reasoning behind why she would.

She turned away then, embarrassed—if he had to guess—for asking him. "You know, the Tardis being a time and space machine, the android ring coming from space, you being an alien... Anything?" She reached a hand up and tugged on her earlobe. "It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that... it _is_ just a bit… unbelievable. I-I just can't seem to wrap my head around it, even though it's right here in front of me..." She sighed then, dropping her hand. "Never mind. It's stupid."

"No! No, it's not." The Doctor argued, part of him happy that Aston was allowing him some insight as to what she was feeling, making him want to help any way that he could. "Um..." He pat down his pockets, thinking for a moment, before an idea popped into his head and he reached out his hand. "Give me your hand."

Aston gave him a look. "Why?"

"You wanted proof." He explained. "Give me your hand."

She hesitated, but soon placed her hand—wraps and all—into his, allowing him to bring it to the left side of his chest. She frowned slightly, not understanding and went to speak, but the Doctor shushed her.

"Just... watch."

He then shifted her hand to the right side of his chest and her eyes widened a fraction before she pulled her hand away.

"How did you do that?" She asked, making him smile a bit.

"That's a first. People don't normally have that reaction." He rambled, before getting to the point. "Two hearts."

Aston opened her mouth, but quickly closed it with an audible ' _snap_ ', looking down at her hand with furrowed brows as her other hand reached up towards her earlobe again; a thinking habit, the Doctor noticed. Finally, she dropped her hand and shook her head.

"Alright. Okay. You're a Time Lord alien thing. I'll believe that. And since I _physically_ fought a robot that pretended to be one of my colleagues, I'll go ahead and let that one slide." She stood up and pointed the top of her water bottle at him with a stern look. "But I still don't know about this Tardis being a time and space machine."

The Doctor couldn't help the grin that split across his face as he grabbed her wrist. "Come on. I've got just the thing."

And with that, he pulled her out of the room, running all the way to the Tardis console to show Aston the universe and just how great it could be.


	3. Chapter 3

**To the guest reviewer from chapter 1: Thank you for the input. As mentioned in my profile, these stories are all just ideas that i typically just type out to get out of my head, but i appreciate the tips on the point of view and will keep that in mind. However, i'm not studying archaeology. i'm studying anthropology (archaeology is a sub-field in that, which i've barely touched on the basics of and don't intend to get into much. i'm aiming more for forensic work), but i didn't do much research for this, so i will remember that in the future as well. :) i will definitely study up on subjects i'll be using in future fanfics, but again, this is just stuff i have lying around, so who knows if/when i'll get around to fixing this. *shrugs***

* * *

"Go on. Open the doors." The Doctor said with a smile, but I wasn't so sure about this.

"But if we're in space, then wouldn't opening the doors take out all the air?"

He rolled his eyes, grabbing my wrist and pulling me closer to the doors. "Aston, I promise you won't get sucked out into space. I've extended the air shell, so nothing will happen."

I gave him a frown, the logical side of my brain still unsure about all of this alien nonsense. "And I'm supposed to believe that?"

The Doctor paused, giving me a serious look as he grabbed my upper arms and made me face him. "I know you don't trust me, Aston. But believe me when I say I will _never_ let anything happen to you, if I'm there to stop it."

I eyed him, still not entirely convinced, but a part of me still said that he could be trusted. That he was safe.

"And this applies to flying out into space, does it?" I muttered, eyeing the doors behind me ominously.

The Doctor smiled reassuringly though, turning me around and pushing me towards them. "And to robot attacks and alien invasions. Even kidnapping." He joked—or at least I hoped that he was joking.

Slowly, I reached for the door handle and pushed it open, looking outside and feeling my breath hitch in my throat at the sight of various red shades of dust and stars floating about outside.

"W-What..."

"It's the Scarlet System." The Doctor explained as I grabbed the edge of the doorway and leaned out, looking around to make sure it wasn't a projector or something. "It actually gets eaten by a black hole in the 42nd century. Shame, it's really a rather nice place. Home to the Pallushi. They had an empire that lasted billions of years. Brilliant, isn't it?"

I finally managed to close my mouth and slowly sank to the floor, allowing my legs to dangle over the edge of the doorway as I stared out at the star system and reality began to sink in. _I'm really... in space... with an alien. What... What can I say? This is impossible, but... there's proof right in front of me._ My thoughts were cut off when a hand settled on my shoulder, making me turn to see the Doctor giving me a worried look.

"You okay? I know this is a bit much to handle, but... this is really _real_. The Tardis, me, aliens and time machines. All of it is real."

I turned away and nodded, eyes looking out at the Scarlet System and trying to take in every detail. "I know. It's just..."

The Doctor sat down beside me, his own legs swinging back and forth below him. "Brilliant? Beautiful? Amazing?"

I shook my head slightly. "Indescribable." I turned to him to see his pleasantly surprised face. "It's the universe. Time and space and stars and suns and rocks. And..." I looked back at the dust outside. "...you can't sum it up in one word. And all the words in the universe couldn't give it justice."

"And you're a part of it." The Doctor said, drawing my attention back to him as he too, looked out into the stars. "Brilliant, smart, curious Aston Reynolds, looking out at the stars with a mad man in a box."

He smiled at me, but I had lost a bit of the excitement I had a moment ago. The way he talked about me just... made me nervous. It reminded me what I could be getting into and how easily it would be for someone to get hurt the closer I got. And the pressure those words put on me, made me feel like garbage. Like I would have to try and try to prove that I could be smart and brilliant, because if I wasn't then who was to say they wouldn't get bored and toss me aside? It wouldn't be the first time I didn't live up to someone's expectations and I wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor did what everyone else had done.

I got up and moved away from the door, catching the Doctor's slightly crestfallen expression out of the corner of my eye as I went towards the console and stared blankly down at some of the controls. I heard him close the doors and make his way over to me, but I didn't want him to notice my sudden unease, so I turned to him with a raised brow and my arms crossed over my chest.

"So? You showed me this is a spaceship. Now where's the time part?"

The Doctor grinned and began moving quickly around the console, flipping switches and twisting knobs and pushing buttons in some sort of order that only he knew the combination of. The Tardis jolted and I grabbed onto the railing as it shook and gave out a mechanical wheezing sound; the Doctor piloting it to who-knows-where. My stomach flipping around in insecurity as I mentally questioned what it was I was getting myself into.

* * *

As the Doctor put in the coordinates, he would stealthily sneak glances at Aston as the Tardis jolted about. He knew he'd done something. He wasn't sure what he'd done, perhaps it was something he'd said, but for a moment, Aston had this look in her eyes. One that tore at his hearts, though he couldn't be sure why. It was such a complicated emotion that he had no clue what she was feeling at the time, just that it hurt to see her that way. It was a look he hadn't see in any of his other companions before now and Aston wasn't _like_ any of his previous companions. They all had their back-stories, some tragic, some not too bad, some joyous and happily pleasant. But Aston's was different. He couldn't figure it out and it almost made him want to go and look for himself. To fly the Tardis into her time-line and see how she grew up and how he could help the Aston with him now. But he couldn't.

He knew it would be rude to invade her privacy like that and any trust he may be forming with her, would be lost the moment she knew; and she _would_ find out. Not only that, but the Doctor didn't _want_ to. He wanted to help her his own way. Step by step, learning from her what happened to make her who she was. He didn't want to take shortcuts. He just... wanted to do things in order for once. No bouncing around like he does in the Tardis, just slow and steady with one step at a time. So when he saw her close up just now, change the subject and draw his attention elsewhere, he went along with it. He put on a smile and pretended like her odd behavior hadn't happened because he wanted her to come to him. And, in time, he believed it would happen. Already, he could see her changing. Opening up a bit, letting things out, actually _speaking_ —he got the feeling she didn't do it very often—and that meant that he was moving in the right direction.

"Alright!" He called out, flipping one last switch as the Tardis landed and he bounded over to Aston, prying her hand from the railing and tugging her over to the door. "You wanted proof of a time machine, well, here you go." He pushed the doors open and pulled her out onto a cobblestone road, arm spread out beside him as an excited grin made it's way onto his face. "Victorian England! Site of the Jack the Ripper murders. Home of the original _Alice In Wonderland_ book. And the crowning of Queen Victoria!" He leaned over to Aston with a wink. "Saved her from a werewolf once and was promptly knighted and exiled on the same day."

Aston's reaction though, surprised him once more, and she turned to him with a frown on her face.

"Now hold on, for all I know, you dragged me out into some reenactment or something. This isn't proof of a time machine."

The Doctor pouted, though a part of him was excited for this kind of reaction. It gave him a chance to show Aston something even more amazing.

"What kind of proof do you want then?" He asked as the two of them headed back into the Tardis and he leaned up against the console as Aston's brows furrowed in deep thought.

"I wasn't around for anything big like the invention of the telephone or World War I or anything, so there'd be no point in showing me that sort of stuff. And I don't personally know people like Ben Franklin or Rosa Parks or Edgar Allen Poe, so introducing me to people who claim to be them is a no-go too."

The Doctor continued to watch her in fascination at how her thought process worked. He actually found it kind of amusing that she went out of her way to explain what she was thinking and how she got from point A to point B. She was obviously very clever and it had probably become an automatic response to having to explain things to people who weren't quite quick enough to understand without a walk through. The Doctor often found himself having to explain things to his own companions, and even then, it wasn't as though he enjoyed it. It'd be nice to have someone keep up with him and, though Aston was only human and had a limit to how much she knew like everyone else, she had kept up with him so far and he found it nice that she asked so many questions to get as best of an understanding of things as she could. She was definitely a curious one.

"So, you're saying I should take you somewhere you've been before. Your past?" The Doctor commented and Aston gave him a look; yet again, something unexpected.

"Can you do that? Won't it ruin the time-line of things or something?"

"Could." He shrugged, wincing upon remembering the time with Rose and her father. "But only if you do something you shouldn't. I'll be going with you, so it should be fine. Anytime in particular?"

He went around to mess with a few dials on the Tardis, preparing her for another trip, but kept his eyes on Aston, who seemed to have softened a bit.

"Disney."

"What?" The Doctor raised a brow, questioning if he heard that right.

Aston lifted her head and gave him a serious look. "Disneyland. Anaheim, California. September 3rd, 1990."

He hesitated, but nodded, turning back to the controls to put in the date. "Alright. Disneyland, September 3rd, 1990."

"Oi, did someone say Disney?" Amy Pond suddenly came down the stairs with Rory following. "You two weren't planning on going off and enjoying yourselves without us, were you?"

The Doctor looked up at them, glancing between them and Aston a few times with his mouth open. "Oh, um... You see, I was jut showing Aston—"

Aston cut him off, nodding towards the two Ponds. "You can come too. No one's stopping you."

Amy smiled and turned to the Doctor, sticking out her tongue at him before she started bounding back up the stairs. "Alright then! I'm going to go change and we'll be down in a minute!"

Her and Rory headed off and the Doctor turned to Aston in slight concern, knowing that this was supposed to be Aston's time that they were getting involved in, but the woman hardly seemed bothered.

"Are you sure?" He asked, and she shrugged.

"Like I said, why not? It's Disneyland. No one's stopping them from enjoying the theme park."

"But it's your past." He argued, just trying to be sure.

"And I'll be one of a hundred other kids at the park. Her and Rory will probably just head off and enjoy themselves anyway. You're welcome to, too. This is just to prove that your ship's a time machine. It's... not important."

The Doctor's brows furrowed in slight confusion. The way Aston was saying this event wasn't important bothered him, because there was this emotion that flickered across her eyes that said this _was_ important. At least, it was important to her. And he didn't want to leave her alone in this, especially if it was a hurtful memory that they'd be visiting. He couldn't be sure though, and when he went to ask, he was surprised to find he had zoned out long enough for Aston to head up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" He asked, a little more confused.

She held up a hand, part of her wraps dangling off it. "To take these off and take a quick shower before changing. I'd rather not go into Disney looking like I'd just had a fight."

"Ah." He hummed in understanding, before realizing that Aston didn't have a room or know where the wardrobe was. "The bathroom is—"

"It's fine." She cut him off, waving a hand. "I'm sure the Tardis will lead me the right way."

The ship let out a hum as the lights flashed a little brighter and then dimmed again, as though agreeing with her.

"See?" Aston said, a hint of a smile on her face that made the Doctor smile back.

"She likes you."

"That's good." Aston said, moving to the doorway. "It'd suck if she hated me. I'd rather not get lost looking for the bathroom or accidentally dropped into the pool or something."

The Doctor gave her a look. "How'd you know I had a pool?"

She shrugged. "Lucky guess."

She headed out then, leaving the Doctor to let out a slight chuckle and shake his head as he put the Tardis into flight and landed her; making his way to his own wardrobe to see if he had anything to wear that would be more in the Disney spirit.

* * *

The wardrobe was... bigger than I expected. Halls and rooms and stairs full of clothes overwhelmed me and I almost walked out in what I was already wearing if the ship would've let me. Instead, she locked the door and dimmed the lights, allowing one section to be lit up where I eventually found something to wear without the hassle of having to search through thousands of choices. From there, I was shown to a bathroom where I showered and changed, before heading back towards the console room. I didn't enter though and waited in the doorway as I listened to the Doctor and Amy talk about rides and silly hats and such. I felt something stir in my stomach as I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall, listening as laughter drifted up to where I was.

 _What am I going to do? He's showing me all this stuff, for what? Is he trying to convince me to stay? He already asked why I wanted to go home, but... what should I do if he asks me to stay? We hardly know anything about each other. Amy and Rory are virtually clueless, and they're better friends to him than me. So why does he want me around? He has them, so..._ I brought a hand up to my earlobe, tugging on it as I tried to figure out what the Doctor was trying to do. _Why is he bringing me in like this? There's got to be a reason. I'm not smart or special or anything. So what if my left eye is brown and my right eye is green? Who cares if I prefer pants and shorter hair? What does it matter that I hide behind some tough outer appearance? Why does any of this interest him? Why does_ he _interest_ me _? And am I really willing to just go out and show him one of my happiest moments?_

"Aston! Stop skulking up there! Come join us!" The Doctor called out, making me stiffen and wonder how he knew I was hiding up here.

Hesitantly, I poked my head out from around the doorway with my usual blank expression.

"I'm not skulking." I furrowed my brows a bit then, taking in the Mickey ear hat on his head and the multitude of pins stuck to both of his red suspenders; his tweed jacket having been tossed over the jump-seat nearby. "What's with the hat?"

"We're going to Disney! Can't forget my hat!"

I blinked slowly and decided to just ignore it, heading down the stairs in my jeans and simple white v-neck; a short sleeved army green over shirt on top of that and a long grey plaid bandana around my neck. Once I was down there, Rory gave me a small smile and went to say something, but Amy grabbed his arm and hurriedly tugged him towards the door.

"Come on! No point in talking! There's rides to go on!"

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" He complained, though not appearing too displeased at Amy's rushing nature.

I simply watched them go, before I noticed a hand stretched out before me. Following the appendage upwards, I looked up to see the smiling Doctor who nodded his head towards the door.

"You heard her. Come on. Let's go see the happiest place on Earth."

I sighed quietly, but allowed him to take my hand and drag me out in a similar manner as Rory. I hadn't expected to be standing in the middle of Main Street though, and it took me a minute to orientate myself as the Doctor let go of my hand and laughed, spinning around in the middle of the road like a kid during Christmas.

"Disneyland! Oh, Walt Disney was such a friendly guy. And I'll tell you now, I had _nothing_ to do with his creation of Professor Von Drake." He said, waving a finger my way.

I held up my hands in surrender. "Never said you did."

 _Though it_ does _explain quite a bit. The Doctor does give off the 'mad scientist' vibe._ I mused as the four of us headed down Main Street; Amy hanging off Rory's arm and pointing out shops excitedly. I wasn't nearly as excited, my memories of this place having gotten foggy after not being here in twenty years. Not only that, but my few memories of this place was mixing with reality as I remembered dashing up Main Street, grinning brightly and tugging a friendly face behind me towards Adventureland. Someone grabbed my hand suddenly though, snapping me out of it as the Doctor gave me a beaming smile and tugged me that way, pointing.

"Let's go, Aston! I heard the Jungle Cruise was fun!"

I allowed him to drag me along into the line, only having to wait a few moments before we were packed into a boat along with a number of others. A set of grandparents were sitting beside the Doctor, holding hands and smiling, while a small little girl sat next to me with a large sucker; her mother sitting beside her and scolding her as she wiped at her mouth with a wipe. My eyes lingered on the fussy child for a moment, my own memories playing out as I remembered chuckles and teasing tickles as my face was wiped after getting ice cream all over my chin before getting on this very ride.

"Aston?"

I looked away from the girl and over at the Doctor, trying to play off my moment of distraction as he squeezed my hand.

"You okay?"

I pulled my hand away from his, nodding as I muttered an answer back. "Fine. Just zoned out for a moment."

The loud engine of the boat signaled our departure from the dock and the boat pulled away as we made down the river, making me suddenly realize that Amy and Rory weren't with us. I nudged the Doctor, deciding it'd be best to ask.

"Where's the other two?"

"Amy and Rory? They headed off towards Tomorrowland. Said something about Space Mountain." He replied, grinning and waving as our boat guide said to wave to the people waiting in line at the dock because we may never see them again.

"That's surprising. I would've though that'd be the first place you'd go." I said, teasingly.

"Oh, there's no fun in that! Save the best for last, right? Besides, every trip should start with a bit of adventure." He said with a smirk, making my heart skip a beat when his green eyes sparked mischievously.

 _Oooohhhh no. Don't you start. You can't get close to him._ Especially _not that close. So stop it._ I turned to look ahead of me, doing my best to keep the heat from rushing up my neck as the Doctor laughed at some joke the boat guide said. As we passed the Indiana Jones ride though, I spotted a little girl rushing out of the exit with a huge grin on her face, turning around to walk backwards and call out to a couple of people behind her. I immediately recognized the baggy tan shorts and blue shirt she was wearing, as well as the necklace that bounced off her tiny chest as she laughed. It was then that she turned and looked at me, catching my eyes and beaming as she gave me a wave. I couldn't even think as my hand rose on it's own to wave back and the boat rounded the corner, pulling her out of site as a memory came to me.

" _Did you see? Did you see the lady? I think she had eyes like me!"_

" _Oh? Two of a kind? I guess that means you're both pretty special then, huh?"_

A lump welled up in my throat and I slowly lowered my hand as it shook slightly. I must've zoned out for a while after that too, because I didn't stop looking down at my quivering hand until a smaller one poked my leg.

"Hey. Aren't you going to get off now, mister?" The little girl beside me asked, her head tilted in curiosity. "Your mom and dad are going to be upset if you don't."

I opened my mouth, feeling my heart rip at those words, but forcing myself to smile a little as I nodded and got up to follow her off the boat. "Yeah. You're right. I shouldn't upset them."

She nodded, glad she'd convinced me of something and surprisingly, held out her hand. I hesitated, but took it, allowing her to 'help' me out of the boat before her mom hurried over and began apologizing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "It's fine. I don't mind."

The woman nodded and took the girl's hand. "Ashley, come on. We're supposed to meet your brothers at the Pirate's ride."

"Okay." She said, before turning to me and suddenly giving me a hug and letting me go, waving one last time. "Bye mister! I hope you feel better soon! And your eyes are very pretty!"

I stared with shocked eyes as she bounded off with her mom—who quietly scolded her about me being a woman and not running off—feeling that pressure in my chest getting worse as I took a deep stuttering breath and looked around for the Doctor. He'd run off apparently, because I could see him anywhere—and trust me, it'd be hard to miss him even in a crowd. Just as I was about to give up and go find something to do by myself, something blurry and brown was shoved in my face.

"Here!" The Doctor smiled and pulled the object away, giving me a better look at it now that it wasn't in my face. "Churro!"

I took the confectionery from him with a strange look, wondering what possessed him to just run off like that only to come back with a sugar covered stick of bread, much less give it to me. He was ignorant of my suspicion and the two of us headed off down the road.

"So! I was thinking we hit the Indiana Jones ride and then—"

"No." I cut him off, quickly trying to cover up my mishap. "It's uh... a long line. It'd be better to go on something else first."

He gave me a strange look, but nodded. "Alright, makes sense. Then how about Thunder Mountain? That's close by."

I nodded and followed after him as he hummed and chewed on his own churro. _Idiot. Why did you interrupt him anyway? She came from the exit of the ride, so she's probably not even there. There was no need to panic like that._ I took a bite of my churro and felt my brows start to furrow. _So stupid. And what does it matter if you see her again? Looking at her won't screw up time or anything and... isn't that what you came for?_

"—Aston?"

"Hm?" I hummed out, realizing that the Doctor had asked something while I was distracted with my thoughts.

He frowned. "Are you sure you're alright? You're zoning out quite a bit there."

I nodded, not bothering to say anything since my mouth was full of churro and he dropped the subject.

"And I was asking why you picked here. What happened here that made you want to come back?"

I went quiet, not really wanting to answer that, but knowing that it'd be a bit rude not to. He _had_ , after all, gave me the chance to come here and what was the harm if I _did_ tell him? He answered all of my questions and I didn't exactly tell him _not_ to pry, only that _I_ wouldn't. And he hadn't asked me much of anything about myself. I threw away the wrapper of my churro as we reached the line for Thunder Mountain and realized that he wasn't even pushing for an answer, and has since started looking around at various things as though he'd never asked in the first place. _He's giving me space. Leaving it up to me to choose if or when I'll tell him... God, this man..._

"It was the last time." I said, making him turn to me so quickly, I was surprised he didn't get a kink in his neck. "The last time I was happy. Truly, honestly... happy."

He stepped closer, but not too close; already seeming to understand that I needed space. "What happened, Aston?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but was cut off by someone clearing their throat; us having reached the front of the line already.

"How many?" The man asked and I held up two fingers before he showed us what line to get in and we soon got on the train; thus ruining my chance to answer the Doctor's question.

For now.

* * *

Aston and the Doctor went around to various rides after that, and even visited a few stores—including a hat store that the Doctor had a blast at. Aston though, hadn't seemed nearly as excited about this whole thing as he was and he often found her staring off into space, almost reliving something she'd experienced here. He still wondered what she had meant earlier when she'd told him this was the last time she was truly happy. The question nagged at him the rest of the day, but he was diligent and didn't bring it up again, waiting for Aston to reveal it's meaning in her own time. And the Doctor was actually happy that she'd chosen to go to someplace like Disneyland, because he doubted it would've have been so easy to keep his questions to himself if they were elsewhere with less things to distract himself with.

He was worried though, because it seemed that the longer they stayed, the more sullen Aston became. At one point, he almost considered calling Amy and Rory and heading back to the Tardis, but something told him that Aston wouldn't want that. She'd come here for a reason and—though he'd yet to discover that reason—he could tell that Aston was trying her best to give him a chance to have a good time despite whatever was haunting her. The answer soon came though, when Aston accidentally bumped into someone; causing them to spill their drink down the front of her shirt.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" The woman said apologetically as Aston stared down at the front of her shirt and started to wipe some of the excess liquid off.

"It's fine. Really." She said, twisting the end of her shirt and dripping soda down onto the pavement as the woman before her pulled out a handkerchief and began dabbing at Aston's shirt.

"Oh, I should've been paying attention to where I was going. I'm so sorry. I'll buy you a new shirt."

"I said it's fine." Aston reassured. "I wasn't exactly paying attention either. Honestly, it's fine."

When she looked at the worried woman in front of her though, the Doctor watched as her entire body stiffened like a board and her eyes widened a fraction, before the woman herself looked up and got a good look at her as well.

The woman though, smiled; pleasantly surprised. "Oh! You must be the woman my daughter saw on the Jungle Cruise ride! She _said_ she saw someone with eyes like hers. Who'd of thought we'd bump into each other."

"Y-Yeah." Aston stuttered out as the woman went on; still trying to clean Aston's shirt for her.

"You should meet her! She's a cute kid. A bit tomboyish, but there's no harm in having a tough daughter. Makes it harder for the boys." The woman laughed, before looking over at the Doctor. "Though it seems you've already got that covered."

"H-He's not—" Aston started to say, but she cut her off.

"No, no. Course not. Listen to me, prying into someone else's love life." The woman then looked down at Aston's shirt with a guilty expression. "I really should buy you a new shirt." She then smiled. "And you can meet my daughter as we look!"

Aston though, began pulling away from the woman. "No. It's okay, really. I-I should actually get going. We were supposed to meet up with our friends and—"

"Oh, but I owe you _something_ for ruining your shirt. The least I could do is get you a new one."

Aston continued to resist though, making the Doctor wonder why she was so adamant about leaving suddenly. "It's okay. We were just leaving. Honest."

"Oh nonsense." The woman chided gently, before turning around and catching sight of something, smiling. "Ah! There you two are! I was wondering where you got off to."

The Doctor looked past her to see a young man with a little girl on his shoulders, one that looked _very_ familiar. It was only when they got closer and he caught sight of the little girl's mismatched eyes that realization dawned on him, and he knew now why Aston was backing up and trying to leave. The woman though, was clueless and hurried over to the two with smiles, talking about her incident with the soda probably, but Aston had grabbed the Doctor's wrist and took off in a run in the opposite direction, just as the woman turned to point them out; only to find them gone.

They'd gone a long ways, running through Frontierland and Fantasyland, even through Tomorrowland, until they ended up in a dark room off of Main Street where various clips of old Mickey mouse cartoons played around them. The room was empty aside from them and, though the Doctor was hardly winded by the run, he could feel Aston's hand shaking slightly before she let him go and moved around the small raised platform to sit in the dark on the floor. Unsure what to do, the Doctor fidgeted and glanced around at the cartoons for a moment before sonicking the door shut; hoping to give them some privacy for a moment since it seemed that Aston may have some things to tell him. He sat down beside her and stayed silent, knowing that now wasn't the time to push her into answering him, and watched Steamboat Willie on the screen above them until she finally lifted her head and spoke.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." He shrugged off, smiling a bit as Mickey stuffed a cow full of hay to get it to fit in it's harness.

Aston was silent for a moment, before she sighed. "That was my parents and I. They brought me here as a gift. It was... my birthday present. My birthday was back in May, but... they couldn't afford to take me then and I promised I'd wait until they could."

Though curious as to what happened, the Doctor didn't want to force her into telling him anything just because they'd bumped into her past self.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

Aston shook her head though, eyes serious despite the sorrow held in Aston's expression. "No. You brought me here and you've answered all of my questions. You're willing to show me so much, so... I might as well give you something in return."

The Doctor was unsure, but reluctantly nodded, allowing her to continue explaining.

"I was only five when my parents died. Three months from now, they'll come to pick me up from the kickboxing class I started going to and... The road was slick. It'd rained the day before and the night had caused it to freeze over. They rounded the corner and just skid into the building across the street."

She paused, the Doctor giving her a worried look because through this whole thing, not a single tear fell. Not once did her voice quiver or break. She was just relaying it back, like a recording. Keeping any and all emotions out of the story and tucking them back within herself. And he knew through his own experience, that it wasn't healthy and would eventually tear her apart, but something told him it already had. She was so guarded and quiet because she'd been torn apart more than once. And her parents' death, just felt like the tip of the iceberg.

"I was standing outside on the sidewalk. Just five years old and I watched as their car bashed into that building and hit a second car waiting at the light." Aston sighed quietly, as though tired of all of this; this burden she was having to carry. "Both of them had died in the accident and a little girl in the other car had been killed as well. Her mother had come to my parents' funeral yelling and screaming about them killing her baby girl." She trailed off for a second before leaning her head back and looking up at the Mickey Mouse cartoon above them. "That's why I wanted to come here. We were so happy and ignorant of what was going to happen in three months. It was the best moment of my life and I thought... I thought that by coming back, I might..."

Aston took in a shaky breath, closing her eyes as one of her hands fisted itself around part of her ruined shirt and the Doctor understood. He knew a part of who Aston was now. He understood that—like him—she blamed herself for her parents' death, as well as that of the little girl who was killed. She didn't say that, but he saw the guilt swimming in her eyes and he knew. He knew she came here to try and get back a bit of that happiness that she'd lost from that. And he knew that she was disappointed because it didn't help at all. All it did was remind her of what she lost. All it did was hurt her more, and he suddenly felt guilty for not realizing it earlier. For not realizing _why_ she had been staring off into space. Not bored, but upset; sad. But what hurt him most, was how even after giving up this part of herself to him, she still refused to let it out. She refused to cry and get upset about it, just shoving it back inside some little box in her head to be dealt with at a later time; or not at all.

He wanted to help her. Comfort her in some way, but he knew how hard it was to take that kind of thing from others. He knew that no matter how many times people said they were sorry for what happened, it still happened and nothing would get rid of the guilt that Aston and he, himself, held onto. So, he did the one thing he could. He reached an arm over and pulled her up against his side, rubbing his hand up and down her upper arm. She'd stiffened at first, but after a moment, she relaxed and the two of them sat in silence, watching the Mickey Mouse cartoons around them until they felt it was time to leave; heading back to the Tardis to wait for the return of Amy and Rory.


	4. Chapter 4

At some point, I'd started falling asleep waiting for Amy and Rory with the Doctor in the Tardis. I hardly realized until I'd nearly fallen out of the jump-seat, thus alerting the Doctor who poked his head around the large glowing column in the middle of the room.

"You alright there?"

I nodded, rubbing one of my eyes with the heel of my palm and stifling a yawn. "Yeah. I'm fine."

I could feel his eyes on me and did my best to ignore them, still feeling a rock in my stomach after I'd explained why I wanted to come to Disneyland in the first place. _And let's not forget him comforting you._ A side of my mind chuckled. _Oh shut up. He was being nice. So what?_

 _So, you liked it._

 _I did not._

 _Oh, don't deny it. You liked that he didn't say he was sorry, and you liked it even more when he hugged you._

 _He was only doing what anyone would do. I'm nothing special. I wasn't getting special treatment. So shut up!_

"Aston?"

I flinched, turning slightly to see that the Doctor had approached me, waving a small cell phone.

"Amy said they're staying for the fireworks, so they'll be back a bit late. Do you want me to show you your room?"

I frowned a bit, confused. "My room?"

He nodded with a grin suddenly spreading across his face. "Yes! I just added a bedroom and the Tardis should of designed it to your tastes."

He must've seen the look on my face, because his smile slipped off and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I mean, you can use it while you're staying with us. It's not me trying to force you to stay or anything. Say the word and I'll take you home."

He moved over towards the console dejectedly, idly flipping switches and such, though my brows stayed furrowed in confusion.

"You... _want_ me to stay?"

He turned to me in shock. "Of course! You're smart and cunning, and get along with everyone pretty well. Amy needs some sort of female companion and I rather enjoy your company."

I stood up, shaking my head slightly. "I-I'm not really—"

In three quick strides, the Doctor was directly in front of me and holding onto my arms just below the elbow with a serious look in his eyes.

" _Yes_ , you are. In nine hundred years, I've never met anyone who wasn't important or special in some way, and _you_ , Aston Reynolds, are _very_ important and _very_ special. And I mean it." He said, seeing the hesitation and doubt in my eyes. "I'm not joking or saying it just to say it. I meant it. You are... you are stunning and smart and captivating and mysterious. You are..." He smiled then, green eyes sparkling as he looked at me. "You are the universe. You are... indescribable. And I want you to stay with me. To travel with me and see the stars and the worlds that no one in your time has ever had the chance of seeing, because I think you have seen so much bad in the world, that it's time for you to see some good. And to see that there's so much more out there than what you'd find digging holes in the ground for months on end."

He chuckled a bit at the last part and I couldn't help the small upturn of my lip as I nodded.

"Yeah... Yeah, alright. I suppose I can stay if it's alright with you and the Ponds." I paused for a moment then, glancing up at the ceiling with the hint of a smile. "And the Tardis, of course."

The ship hummed and flashed it's lights in seeming excitement.

"Oh, perfect. That is just... perfect!" The Doctor grinned, suddenly pulling me forward into a hug that made my eyes widen in surprise, before he pulled away and took my hand; pulling me towards the hall. "Now, your room is two doors down from mine and the third hall on the right from Amy and Rory's. The gym has been moved to across the hall for your convenience as well."

"You didn't have to—" I tried, but he waved it off with his free had, pulling me down the hall and around corners in an order that I couldn't keep up with.

"Nah, it's been so long since someone's used it that it doesn't bother anyone if I moved the room around. We usually get enough exercise during our adventures anyway. Lots of running." He clarified, making me wonder just what kind of adventures he was talking about. "You don't mind, do you? Bit dangerous sometimes and, as I said, lots of running."

I shrugged as we pulled to a stop outside a wooden door. "Doesn't bother me. I used to run five miles out and back. It's been a bit since I have, thanks to work, school, and my knee, but I'll be fine. And I can take care of myself for the most part. Doesn't bother me." I then felt a thought come forward and blurted out the question before I could stop myself. "And did you say you were nine hundred years old?"

He laughed, a full on guttural laugh that made my heart race slightly as he gave my hand a squeeze—still holding it, apparently. "You, Aston. You always catch something and never cease to surprise me."

"You're... welcome?" I said, unsure before he smiled and gestured to the door.

"After you."

I reached for the handle, but stopped before turning it, giving him a look. "So you _are_ nine hundred years old."

He rolled his eyes. " _Over_ nine hundred years old, but yes."

I gave him a look over, not exactly seeing how the lithe, twenty-something year old childish man in front of me could be over nine-hundred years old, but decided to drop it for now. _He's got two hearts, so maybe his body ages differently... Eh. It's a question for another day._ I turned back to the door and opened it, heading inside of a room that wasn't very big, but wasn't very small either. There was a _very_ comfy looking couch at the far end with a bookcase stacked full of books on either side of it. On the wall perpendicular to that, was a door—most likely leading to the closet—and a small desk with an old fashioned lamp on it with another door next to that—for the bathroom. The floor was a deep blue-grey carpet and the walls were a dark, almost _Tardis_ blue with white trim and silver circular designs on it. The bed was a simple queen sized bed with a dark oak headboard with white sheets and a velvety dark blue blanket, with a skylight above it displaying the dark expanse of space speckled with stars and galaxies and suns.

I found it interesting that the skylight and window weren't painted, but actually moving and rather realistic; making me wonder if the Tardis had set up screens or if this was something real that she herself had created from her own 'memories'—if she had memories, I was unsure about that—or from someone else's memories, like the Doctor's or my own. Said man, had wandered in behind me and was looking around with a puzzled look and a small frown on his face.

"That's strange. The Tardis usually makes the rooms bigger and more extravagant depending on how much she likes the companion. And she really likes you, so I don't know why—"

I shook my head, a small smile on my face as I brushed my hand along the desk on my right. "No. It's perfect. I'm glad she didn't make it bigger or anything. I'm not good with big personal spaces. Your wardrobe even threw me off a bit. So something small like this is fine. As long as it's my own."

"Of course it is." The Doctor hummed with a smile, gesturing to one of the silvery circular designs on the wall. "It _literally_ has your name on it."

I furrowed my brows in confusion and gave the circles a glance. "So that's a language? Not just some weird designs?"

"Oi! They're not weird! They're Gallifreyan."

I approached the wall and tilted my head curiously, testing the word. "Gallifreyan. Is it your language?"

He nodded, looking up at the symbols with a sort of sorrowful expression. "Yes. It's the language of the Time Lords."

I glanced over at him, eager to ask more questions. Like if you could speak the language, if he could teach me the language so I could read the symbols on my wall, and if each circle was made up of letters or words or sentences or phrases. But his expression made me stay silent. There was something bothering him, upsetting him, and the mention of his own language seemed to of dredged it up, so I thought better of asking questions about it, and turned my attention back to the symbols.

"They're amazing."

He turned to me in slight surprise, but smiled and looked back at the symbols fondly. "Yes. Yes, they are."

* * *

I woke up with a start, sitting up in bed and panting as sweat slipped down my spine after the nightmare that had woken me up. Though it was less of a nightmare and more of a memory. _Not that that changes anything._ I let out a long breath and allowed my gaze to drift around the room. _My_ room, I reminded myself, everything that happened the day before still feeling a bit unbelievable. _Well, more than a bit. I mean, aliens, robots, time travel, the Tardis, the Doctor? If I hadn't seen proof, I'd still be in denial, but even now I'm still questioning things._ I got up and went to the closet, grabbing some jeans, a shirt and hoodie before heading for the bathroom. _Maybe, there's a library or something I can go to on this ship to answer some of my questions._ I mused as I stripped and climbed into the shower.

 _Maybe there's something on this Gallifreyan language the Doctor mentioned. He didn't seem like he'd want to discuss it, but I've always had a knack for languages. Maybe I could figure it out?_ I frowned, closing one of my eyes as shampoo slipped down the left side of my face. _Is that prying? It's just learning a language._ His _language, sure, but I don't know what could've upset him about it._ I rinsed out my hair and turned up the water a bit hotter. _Hm, maybe I should look up stuff about the Tardis first. Or maybe Time Lord physiology? Or is that prying too?_ I was beginning to get frustrated and once I finished showering, I pulled on my clothes and slipped on a pair of black boots; not bothering to tie them up all the way as I wandered the halls in the hope that the Tardis would point me in the direction of the library. _If there is one._ The ship let out a hum and I frowned up at the ceiling.

"Why do I get the feeling you're laughing at me?"

Indeed, it seemed like the ship had let out a chuckle at my thoughts and that only made me sigh as I tucked my hands into the front pocket of my jacket and tucked my chin a little closer to my chest, feeling a little cold for some reason.

"It's not my fault that there's no map around here. All I want some nice hot tea and something to do. Is that so much to ask?"

A door opened up near the end of the hall I was in and I relaxed a bit as I headed over, walking into one of the most amazing libraries I'd ever seen. The shelves seemed to go on forever and there were halls and halls of books, going up multiple levels with a desk at one end and beanbags at another and yet another comfy couch as well. I forced myself to close my mouth upon hearing water though, and followed the sound curiously to behind a set of shelves only to discover a _huge_ swimming pool smack dab in the middle of the library. I opened my mouth and closed it again, only to open it once more and shake my head as I threw up my hands and walked away.

"You know, I'm not even going to ask."

The Tardis hummed again and I rolled my eyes, knowing that she was laughing again.

"Shush, you." I said, turning to the nearest shelf and scratching the back of my head as I realized I may never find what I'm looking for with the vastness of this library. "Could you... possibly help me find something? I was thinking about looking up the answers to some of my questions, instead of asking the Doctor. So, uh..."

 _My God, I'm talking to a ship._ I quickly shook the head out of my thought, now not being the time to question my sanity.

"Maybe something along the lines of Time Lord physiology, how I could learn Gallifreyan, and maybe something about... you? If you don't think it's prying, of course. Otherwise, a good mystery novel would be—"

I was cut off as a light flicked on, illuminating a shelf on the second floor, fifth floor, and possibly the tenth floor, as well as one of the selves on my left. I blinked, before tugging on my earlobe.

"Alright then. Or you could give me all of them." I went over to the shelf beside me and found an Agatha Christie novel, pulling that out and heading up the stairs nearby to the second floor. "And you wouldn't happen to know how to make tea the way I like it, would you?"

The ship hummed at me again in amusement and I smiled a little as I went about gathering up the books she'd pointed out for me, mentally thanking her, before getting to work.

* * *

He'd lost her. Oh, God, he lost her! He must have lost her! He'd checked everywhere from the console room to her bedroom to the wardrobe and the gym, but he couldn't find her anywhere! He'd even checked the storage closet and the ball pit! Amy and Rory hadn't seen her and had told him not to worry about it since she was probably just wandering around the Tardis, but for all he knew, she'd gotten lost or somehow fell into a jettison or something and was launched out into space! Her third day on the Tardis—or technically her second since she was unconscious for the first twelve hours—and he's already lost her.

"Aston? Aston, are you in here?" He called out, poking his head into the garage, but frowning when there was no reply.

It was then that he had a thought and shut the door behind him as he gave the ceiling a stern look in the hallway.

"Alright you. I know you're hiding her, so stop putting on the innocent act."

The Tardis hummed back innocently, but the Doctor wasn't having it.

" _No_ , I know you're hiding her. There's no point in acting like you're not. So come on. Out with it. Where is she?"

The Tardis let out a sigh and a door opened up down the hall, making the Doctor grin at knowing he'd gotten his way.

"Thank you." He chirped, bounding off towards the door and recognizing it right away as the library; which only made him even more excited. "Aston?"

He poked his head in, but didn't see her, puzzling him. He went in further though, knowing that the library was a big place and she didn't have to be near the door. She might even be reading in the pool. He didn't think so though. She didn't seem to be the swimming type.

"Aston." He called out, not too loudly though. "Aston?"

He wandered up to the second floor and peered around some of the bookshelves, before some lights further down flickered; the Tardis's way of letting him know where Aston was. Smiling, he went over and popped out from behind the shelves, hoping to surprise her. She hadn't seen him yet though; her back facing him as she worked at a desk nearby. He was curious as to what she was doing however, seeing as she was tugging on her earlobe and had papers scattered about along with some books. Research of some kind, he was sure, but what could she be researching? She could just ask. He'd probably answer her if he knew—seeing as he knew about most subjects anyway—so perhaps she was hiding something from him? The thought made him frown and he approached her quietly, looking over her to see what she was working on, without alerting her to his presence just yet.

To his surprise, the pages scattered across the desk she was at had very familiar circular designs drawn on them. He was shocked, for more than one reason. For one thing, he hadn't expected Aston to be that interested in the language—because that's what she was doing, apparently; researching Gallifreyan. Not only that, but the Doctor knew for a fact that there was no book in the library of the Tardis _about_ Gallifreyan. There were no dictionaries or translating material. Nothing. And yet Aston was here writing out Gallifreyan symbols and making notes and such on it. The only other thing that shocked him, was the fact that she appeared to be making _progress_. Already, he spotted a number of papers with arrows and notes in the margins pointing out assumptions of what a certain line or circle could mean, and a part of him was scared.

He almost didn't want Aston to be doing this. It was _his_ language. The language of the _Time Lords_. He was the last of the Time Lords and this was something that was his alone. It almost made him angry, because she was _stealing_ something that was his. She was taking his language and actually trying to _learn_ it. It was personal to him. It was one of the few things that he had left of his people and here this _ape_ was trying to take it for herself. But at the same time, he wanted her to learn it. He wanted to be able to share something of his with someone and be able to use that ancient language again with someone who could understand it. And here she was going out of her way to try and figure it out. She was curious. Sure, she hadn't asked him, but he didn't doubt that she thought about it. And he wouldn't have believed that she'd search through the whole library in order to find books written in Gallifreyan. That meant that the Tardis had helped her out. But why would she do that? His only guess was that she believed he needed to share it with Aston, and what a strange assumption that was. Seeing no other option, he decided that perhaps, he should just ask.

"What are you doing?"

Aston practically jumped three feet off her chair before she turned to face him with wide eyes. The Doctor though, just picked up a paper and looked it over as Aston tried to overcome her shock at being discovered.

"I-I was... researching." She finally said; sheepishly almost, as she started gathering put the papers on the desk and attempting to organize them.

"Gallifreyan." The Doctor said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction.

She nodded, albeit hesitantly. "Yeah. I would've asked, but... you seemed upset at the mention, so I thought better of it."

"And instead you came to the library to find out for yourself?"

She flinched, barely noticeable. "Sorry. I said wasn't going to pry and I was going to just read." She picked up an Agatha Christie novel to show him. "But I asked the... Tardis about it and she showed me where some books were so I..." She shook her head then, pushing the books to one side. "Never mind. I'm sorry. I should've asked _you_ before doing anything."

The Doctor stayed silent, looking over the books she'd pulled out, before picking up one that caught his eye. He gave it a look over, before glancing at Aston; who was tugging her earlobe in concealed embarrassment.

"Gallifreyan Physiology and Genetics?" He questioned her as she shifted her gaze down towards the desk's surface.

"Y-You said you were nine hundred years old, but you don't look much older than mid to late twenties. I wanted to see if your body aged differently."

He picked up another book then, giving it a disgusted look. "Where did you find this? I threw it out ages ago. Into a supernova, actually."

Aston looked up in slight surprise, before her lip twitched up in a small smile at the Tardis manual that the Doctor was holding.

"Tenth floor, buried behind three rows of manuals on, um..." She frowned for a second in thought. "...a chameleon arch, a screwdriver thing, and a vortex manipulator?" She then gave him a look. "And a supernova? Really?"

"I disagreed with it." He grumbled, tossing the book back onto the desk in annoyance at it's reappearance.

Aston though, started gathering up the books with a slightly sorrowful expression; leaving only the Agatha Christie novel. "I'll just, uh... put these back then."

"What for?" The Doctor said, turning a chair around and sitting in it as he flipped through the Agatha Christie novel to see if he'd ripped out the last page.

Aston paused, giving him a confused look. "I'm... prying. Aren't I? I mean, I was trying to learn your language and about your ship and your species' physiology without asking you first. You're obviously not happy about it, so I'll just—"

"Who says I'm not happy about it?" He asked, spotting the cup of tea on the desk and taking it. "I don't mind."

Aston tilted her head slightly, setting the pile of books back down on the desk. "Really? Because that's not what it looked like a minute ago."

The Doctor opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could.

"And don't tell me that you were fine with it then too, because you weren't. Believe me, I could tell. You didn't care so much about the physiology thing, but your language and the Tardis were things that I should've asked about but didn't, and you weren't happy about it. Alien or not, I can still read the little giveaways." Aston turned away and grabbed another chair from nearby, pulling it up beside him. "I had to learn how to read people at a young age."

Things grew quiet between them, the Doctor not wanting to comment on Aston's last sentence and Aston not wanting to make things any worse between them. Eventually though, the Doctor spoke up.

"I can teach you, if you want. Gallifreyan."

Aston gave him a look. "And why would you want to do that?"

The Doctor shrugged, not really sure himself of why he was suddenly offering to teach her his language, as he looked over another paper will the circular writing on it.

"You've already got an idea of how it works. How long have you been in here?"

It was Aston's turn to shrug. "Dunno. A couple of hours? Not exactly easy to tell without a clock. Or... time."

The Doctor nodded, but gave her a small smile, trying to reassure her since he could tell that she was still hesitant and suspicious of what he was offering.

"You're a quick learner. You've already figured out some of the mechanics behind the written language, which is amazing, because Gallifreyan isn't exactly the easiest thing to learn."

"I have a knack with languages." Aston explained, picking up her cup of tea and sipping at it with a quiet sigh. "I pick them up quickly, learn the mechanics behind them easily, that sort of thing. Pronunciation isn't the best with spoken languages, but once I hear it correctly, I get the hang of it. Figured I'd need the skill if I was going to travel and get into archeology."  
The Doctor wrinkled his nose in disgust. "What's so much fun about digging a hole in the ground and _guessing_ about what happened? I hate archaeologists."

Aston rolled her eyes. "Sorry for wanting to be an archaeologist."

"Ah, not you. I don't hate you." The Doctor said, trying to apologize for possibly insulting her, but she waved it off.

"No, I get it. Some archaeologists can be a pain. They argue too much and always try to be the better one. But you can't really blame them. They're only trying to figure out something they don't understand. It's human nature. Gotta solve the mystery."

The Doctor thought that over for a moment, before turning to Aston. "And you? Why did you want to be an archaeologist?"

"I was good at it." She said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as she slouched in her chair and tilted her head back. "And I like puzzles and learning new things. Mysteries and that. Figured it'd be a good job, fun maybe."

"There's other jobs that do that. Like, uh..." The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Detectives! You could've been a detective."

Aston shook her head, a small frown on her face. "No. I don't like guns."

"Me neither." The Doctor said, realizing that detective was a bad idea. "Interpreter? You like languages."

"Don't like people. Talking to them, mostly. Too many ways to screw up or cause international disasters with the wrong word."

The Doctor tried to think of another job, but couldn't really, and decided that a distraction was in order. Quickly, he stood up and held his hand out to Aston.

"How about a swim."

Aston raised a brow. "You mean in the pool? Why _do_ you have a pool in the library?"

"It got thrown in here when the Tardis was in the middle of reconstruction." He half-heartedly explained, before nodding his head towards the stairs. "Come on. Let's go for a swim."

Aston didn't move. "Uh, no. I don't like swimming."

"You can't swim?" The Doctor asked, making Aston sigh and tug at her earlobe.

"No, I _can_ swim, I just don't _enjoy_ swimming."

"Oh, come on! It's good exercise!"

"So is boxing." Aston countered, making the Doctor pout as he tried to come up with another way to convince Aston to go swimming.

"I'll invite Amy and Rory."

"Go for it. I'll stay here."

"All kinds of swimsuits. You can pick what you like."

"That's nice."

"There's pool toys. Water guns, pool noodles, snorkeling masks."

"Have fun." She hummed, closing her eyes now as she leaned back slightly in her chair.

"There's a series of fantastic water slides.~"

She peeked open an eye, giving him a bland look. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

The Doctor smirked, seeing a bit of curiosity in her eyes. "Are you impressed?"

She rolled her eyes with a sigh and got up, stretching her arms above her head as she groaned. " _Fine_. But only because I know you won't leave me alone until I join you. Go grab the Ponds. I'll pick out a swimsuit."

"Yes!" The Doctor cheered, rushing towards the stairs and sitting on the railing to slide all the way down to the first floor, missing the small amused smile that graced Aston's face for only a moment before she went off down the stairs as well.

* * *

Amy was suspicious. Something was going on between Aston and the Doctor, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Sure, they'd only known each other for a few days, but there was this feeling you got when you watched the two of them. It was weird. She didn't know how else to explain it, but that's what it was. Weird. One minute, they'd be upset with one another and the next, they'd be dead quiet. Not like uncomfortable, but just... quiet.

She knew that the Doctor had liked her from when they'd first met. He was like that. Sees something interesting and he's just all over it like a puppy with a new ball. Not that she didn't like Aston, because she did! The woman was strong and rather quiet, but Amy got the feeling that she was a good person; if a little anti-social. It was just... when the Doctor looked at her, it was strange. Amy hadn't seen that look before from him. After Aston had first woken up and Amy had found them in the kitchen, something had changed between the two. Before—back with the robot and such—Aston had been very closed off and only spoke when needed. She got a bit angry and was pretty cynical, but after Amy had found them, she was asking questions and passing around strawberries like they were all good friends. Strange, like she said.

The Disney trip was odd too. Amy had known that the Doctor was showing off, probably giving Aston an idea of what the Tardis was capable of or something, but the man had seemed peeved when she'd walked in and invited her and Rory. Amy had caught on immediately, of course, and made sure her and Rory had split up from Aston and him right away. This of course made Rory suspicious, but Amy knew he was a bit clueless about things like this and was able to get him to ignore her odd behavior. Thing was, she hadn't expected to find the Doctor alone in the console room working on the Tardis when they'd returned from their trip. He'd said that Aston was tired and went to sleep a bit earlier, but she got the feeling that he wasn't telling them something. She would've pushed for answers, but it seemed that something had happened between them and it felt like she'd be intruding on something if she pushed it. So, she left it alone.

Today wasn't much different. The Doctor had been rushing around the Tardis looking for Aston and, as silly as it seemed, Amy thought he looked really concerned for the other woman. Not that said woman would get into anything troublesome on the Tardis anyway. All the things you shouldn't mess with were in the console room and the Doctor said he'd checked there. At least, she _hoped_ that's the only place where dangerous things were. Anyway, he seemed generally panicked at not knowing Aston's whereabouts and that was strange, _especially_ since they were all still on the Tardis. She understood if they were on some other planet or something, but they weren't, so it was odd. Next thing she knows though, the Doctor's rushing in with a big grin on his face inviting her and Rory to join them for a swim. It was a complete 360 from his previous mood and—though that wasn't too odd, coming from the Doctor—it _was_ odd just how excited he was to go swimming.

Hence, there was definitely something going on between them. She wondered if it was love. I mean, it was the _Doctor,_ so that could be wrong. But then again, River had shown that he _could_ have feelings for someone. The other question was, was it mutual? Did _Aston_ like the Doctor? Amy couldn't tell. The woman was _really_ good at hiding her emotions, if her freak out the other day proved anything. But if she was, Amy got the feeling her and the Doctor would get along _extremely_ well. There was no real reasoning behind Amy's thinking. They weren't making googly eyes at each other or flirting or anything. If anything, they hardly looked friendly at times. But if there was one thing she knew, it was that they were both hiding pain that they couldn't handle on their own. She knew about the Doctor—being the last of his species and blaming himself for things—but Aston was still a mystery.

She was an orphan, had two different eye colors, and was really smart. If Amy had to guess, things didn't go well for her as a kid, but that's about all she could figure out. There was obviously something more, but if anyone could help her, it'd be someone who knew that sort of pain. Someone like the Doctor. So, Amy decided she had a job to do. Get Aston and the Doctor together. Needless to say, it'd be harder than it sounds.

"Geronimo!" The Doctor shouted, before crashing into the pool and sending water cascading onto everyone.

Aston seemed the least pleased, and promptly picked up the large squirt gun that had been sitting in the cup-holder of her floatation device and shot the Doctor clean in the head.

"Stop doing cannonballs. I'm trying to read."

The Doctor pouted. "What fun is that? We're in a _pool_ , Aston!"

"And we're also in a library." She countered, making the Doctor bring his mouth under the water and blow bubbles in frustration at not having a good comeback for that.

Amy just rolled her eyes and kicked Rory into the pool. Said man came back up sputtering.

"What did you do that for?"

Amy shrugged. "Dunno. Just felt like it."

Rory gave her a look, before swimming over and yanking her backwards into the pool as she screamed. Once she surfaced, she splashed water onto Rory who splashed back and laughed; the two beginning a water war until Amy spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

"Rory. Rory, look."

"What?" Rory looked over at where Amy was point, spotting the Doctor as he put on a snorkel and mask with a devilish smirk aimed Aston's way. "Oh no."

Amy couldn't help but smirk as Rory saw what was about to happen, and the two watched as the Doctor dove down underwater and headed Aston's way. Not a moment later, Aston was sent flailing into the water as her floatation device was flipped over and the Doctor popped back up to the surface, laughing as he lifted up his mask.

"See, Aston? Nothing wrong with a little water!"

"Uh, Doctor?" Amy called out, looking around, but seeing no sign of Aston resurfacing. "She hasn't come back up."

Realizing this, the Doctor looked around in worry. "Aston? Aston! Ast—"

His call was suddenly cut off as he was yanked underwater and Aston popped up and kicked him even further down under the water. Amy, though finding this amusing, began to get worried about the third time Aston kicked him down.

"Shouldn't you let him up now? He can drown, you know."

Aston gave her a bland look. "He can survive for over twenty minutes without oxygen."

"Uh, I don't think that means you should test it." Rory said, feeling bad for the Doctor and worried about this woman he'd brought with them.

Aston frowned, almost _pouting;_ though Amy questioned if she was seeing things or not. "He made me drop my book."

"Oh, just let him up." Amy argued, and Aston reluctantly did; the Doctor resurfacing and gasping for breath before pointing an accusing finger at Aston.

"Y-You tried to kill me, just now!"

"You would've lived for another ten minutes." Aston grumbled, swimming over to the side of the pool and pushing herself up and out.

"You _were_ trying to kill me!" He shouted, before looking at her confused. "Where are you going?"

Aston glanced lazily over her shoulder, turning to grab onto the rungs of the diving board ladder. "To get my book."

She started climbing up the ladder as the Doctor looked below him to see the reddish colored book lying at the bottom of the pool; a good twenty to thirty feet down. His eyes widened and he looked up at Aston as she bounced precariously on the edge of the diving board.

"Aston, don't! It's too deep! I'll get it for you, just come down!"

She glanced at him for a moment, before shrugging. "Alright."

Instead of turning around and heading back down the ladder though, she jumped and dived straight into the pool.

"Aston!"


	5. Chapter 5

Amy and Rory stared in shock at the ripples after Aston had hit the water, staring with wide eyes and waiting for her to surface. The Doctor though, wasn't wasting a second before he slipped back on his mask, took a deep breath and dove after her. It took a moment, but Aston and the Doctor popped back up at the surface and the Ponds let out equal sighs of relief, only for the scolding to begin.

"What were you thinking?! You could have drowned!" The Doctor shouted, more worried than angry, but Aston didn't notice.

"I was getting my book back." She said, waving said object, before swimming towards the stairs out of the pool. "And I'm fine. I know my own limits."

"Do you?!" The Doctor argued, following after her as Amy and Rory shared a look. "Human bodies are fragile! If you had hit the water wrong, you could have hurt yourself or worse!"

"But I didn't. I know how to dive into a pool, so I knew I'd be fine. No harm done." She said nonchalantly, not seeing the situation the way the Doctor was.

They were both out of the pool now—Amy and Rory climbing out as well and grabbing towels for themselves as they watched silently—and the Doctor stood behind her angrily as she picked up her towel and dried off her hair.

"You can't just go around and... and recklessly throw yourself into danger!"

She gave him a look and wrapped the towel around her neck, before heading towards the changing room. "You act like I threw myself in front of a bullet."

The Doctor quickly snatched her wrist, pulling her to a stop and making her face him as he looked at her seriously.

"I'm serious, Aston."

She stared right back evenly. "So am I. Now, I may look like some stupid, reckless kid compared to you, Doctor, but I can assure you... I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Are you? Are you really?" He questioned, stepping a little bit closer as she turned to face him; Amy and Rory deciding that now might be a good time to leave, and stealthily sneaking out of the room. "Because I don't see that. I see a human woman trying to act tougher than she is, when she's really scared of what's outside. Scared of the aliens and the monsters and the people and whatever else."

Aston had had enough, and in an instant, the cool calm exterior that she held up snapped and crumbled into pieces as rage took it's place. Before the Doctor could even blink, Aston stepped towards him, brought a hand to his throat and a leg behind his, pushing him back and making him slam against the floor; knocking the air out of him as he stared up at her in shock.

"Don't you _dare_ tell me what I can and can't do, Doctor. You have _no_ idea who I am and who you're messing with." She snarled, rage and another emotion that took him a moment to figure out; hurt.

Before he had a chance to catch his breath and respond though, Aston got up and stormed off, not even bothering to go to the changing room, and just walking out the library door.

"A-Aston, wait!" The Doctor called out, wincing slightly as he got up, but by the time he reached the door, the Tardis had rearranged the halls and Aston was nowhere in sight.

* * *

The Doctor was frustrated. More than just frustrated. He was annoyed and angry and upset and confused, and a multitude of other emotions that would flicker to the surface, only to fade away and be replaced with another. Right now though, he was mostly frustrated. The Tardis wouldn't allow him to get anywhere near Aston's room and the woman herself, irked him in ways he didn't know were possible. Why couldn't she just understand that he was only worried? He _may_ have overreacted a bit at the pool, but he was just concerned. The group had been lucky that they'd been having easy going trips—the few they went on—and the Doctor was hesitant about taking his newest companion out to some planet, only to end up getting kidnapped or attacked or drugged or who knows what else! And here she was already getting into trouble, and she was in the _Tardis_! The safest place in the universe, and she was finding ways to get into danger!

The Doctor sighed, swinging lightly back and forth while working on wiring in the Tardis that _probably_ didn't need fixing. He knew Aston was strong. Her fighting with the android when they first met was proof of that. But he also knew that she wasn't impenetrable. She could get hurt. She _had_ gotten hurt. He frowned a bit as he remembered her pale, shaking figure from when he had to carry her into the Tardis to keep her from possibly dying. This only made him wonder more though, because she was more than just physically hurt. Her lack of expressions, the way she held herself; taller than everyone, but hiding, almost. Something had happened to her while she was growing up and he had a feeling it wasn't just her parents' death that caused it.

He glanced up through the wiring at the console. He could go. He could travel back into her past and find out himself what had happened. And _boy_ , was he tempted. But he turned away from it and got up, deciding that a little walk was in order. Because he wouldn't do that. Not with her. He didn't know why. He had no doubt that if it was someone else that proved to be such an impossibly, he'd jump right in and figure out what happened. But with Aston, it was different. He couldn't quite place what it was and pulled a hand through his moppy hair in annoyance, before he found himself in the kitchen. He wasn't alone though. Amy had apparently been in the process of getting something to drink, and caught sight of him before he could turn and walk out.

"You. Sit."

The Doctor pouted, not wanting to listen to her, but—knowing better than to cross the Pond—he sat down anyway; accepting the cup of tea she passed him before she too sat down.

"So?" Amy hummed, giving him a look.

"What?" He replied, playing innocent and she rolled her eyes.

"You _know_ what. You and Aston. What happened after we left?"

"Nothing." The Doctor said, unconvincingly. "We just... talked."

"And by 'talk' you mean argued." Amy concluded. "Let me guess. You overreacted, said things you didn't mean, she got angry and left, yeah?"

Knowing he was caught, the Doctor solemnly nodded, eyes cast down at his tea.

"Did you apologize?"

He shook his head. "The Tardis won't let me near her room."

"Well, she'll have to come out eventually." Amy shrugged, but the Doctor didn't want to drop this so easily.

"But what do I say? I wasn't _wrong_. If we were being chased by Sontarans and she went and did something reckless like that, what then? She needs to be more careful." He said, frustration coming back up again.

"But we weren't being chased by Sontarans or whatever." Amy countered. "And I'll bet that if we were, she wouldn't do anything without thinking it through first. If anything, I think you're just upset that there's someone else who's just like you. Smart, reckless, independent and mysterious. Two peas in a pod."

The Doctor frowned slightly, wondering if perhaps the reason he was so hesitant about invading Aston's past life was _because_ she was like him. He had a dark past and would rather people didn't go poking around in it. He was careful around his companions on the subject of his past too. Aston was only doing the same. And he was stupid for saying what he did back at the pool. She was right. He didn't know her. He shouldn't assume things about her and even if it _were_ true—and he's not saying it was—he shouldn't have just thrown her weakness at her like that. Especially since they were some of the same weaknesses he had.

"I _was_ overreacting a bit, wasn't I..." He muttered and Amy nodded wholeheartedly.

"Oh yeah. She just dove into a pool and you went all over-protective parent on her."

The Doctor slumped down, guilt welling up within him and Amy sighed.

"Look. I get that your hundreds of years old and all, but in human terms, Aston's actually an adult. A strong one, at that. She _can_ take pretty good care of herself and I'm sure she knows her limits the best. You shouldn't go around treating her like a kid just because of your Time Lordiness. She's been through some rough stuff too, obviously. So maybe you should give her some more credit. She's more mature than you'd think. Heck, I get the feeling I look like a kid next to her." Amy frowned at the thought, before getting up and heading to the door. "Go on, lazybones. Go see if you can get to her room now and make up with her. You were both at fault here, but I think she was more hurt than you."

The Doctor looked up in slight surprise. "Hurt?"

Amy gave him a disbelieving look. "What? Oh, don't tell me you missed that." She turned back towards him, leaning against the door frame. "Of _course_ she was hurt! Mean, she's about as emotional as a rock, but even I could tell she was upset about what you said. Why else would she run off?"

Amy had a point, the Doctor realized. Aston didn't run off until later when he'd explained the Tardis and everything. She was the type that took it all in and sorted it out carefully before giving a response. So her actually getting angry at him and running off like that, only _proved_ that she was hurt. And the Doctor was clueless until just now.

"Don't know what she was hurt about though. You'll have to figure that out on your own." Amy said with a shrug, as the Doctor got up and hurried towards her.

He grabbed her face and kissed her forehead, smiling at her. "Thank you, Amelia."

She gave him an odd look, but smiled a bit in return. "Sure thing. Now go on, Casanova. Go apologize to your woman."

The Doctor took off down the hall, rounding the corner, only to poke his head out and point at her.

"She's not my woman." He said, before turning back around and heading towards Aston's room; hoping the Tardis would allow him to this time.

Amy simply rolled her eyes and started heading to her room, muttering quietly under her breath.

"She will be, if I have anything to say about it."

* * *

The Doctor bounded up to Aston's room, finally finding it after begging the Tardis and convincing her that he was going to apologize. So here he was, fidgeting and taking a deep breath before moving to knock on Aston's door. Before his hand hit the wood though, a voice called out from inside.

"Piss off."

The Doctor grimaced at Aston's language, but spoke. "How did you—"

"Shadow across the bottom of the door."

The Doctor opened his mouth to comment, but then stopped and closed his mouth with furrowed brows. There was a sigh from the other side of the door and it soon opened, revealing Aston leaning against the door frame with a blank expression; arms crossed over her chest.

"The Tardis flicked the light above the door on and off." She grumbled, changing her previous statement. "Now what do you want?"

"I... came to apologize."

"Okay." Aston said, shrugging and heading back into her room.

"Okay?" The Doctor questioned, before heading in after her. "That's it?"

Aston flopped back onto her couch and picked up a book that had been lying beside it on a stack of other books on the floor.

"Sure. Why not? I thought about it. You overreacted. I overreacted. I got over it. Apology accepted. Sorry myself."

The Doctor blinked, not really sure what had just happened. Aston simply turned the page in her book, before he shook his head and sat on the edge of her bed, waving his hands about.

"No, no, no. You were mad! Hurt! Upset! You can't just accept my apology without argument and apologize too!"

Aston turned to him with a raised brow. "I... can't? And how does arguing about an argument solve anything?"

Stumped again, the Doctor shook his head and tried to fix this. "No, you're upset! I know you are!"

"No. I'm not." Aston said, matter-of-factually, turning her gaze back to the book she was reading.

"You are! Why else did you get angry and run off?"

"Maybe because you're annoying? I'm not upset with you."

"No, no, no. If it was just because I was annoying, then you would've just brushed me off." The Doctor got up and moved over to Aston, snatching the book out of her hands.

"Hey."

He ignored her protest and went on, gaze serious. "No, you were _very_ upset with me."

Aston stared back at him for a moment, a frown on her face, before she sat up and crossed her arms over her chest; leaning back against the couch and crossing her legs.

" _Fine_." She spat out. "I was upset. But what do you care? You apologized, I accepted it, end of story. Now give me back the book."

She reached for said book, but he pulled it back out of her reach.

"No, because I want to understand what it is I said that made you upset." His gaze softened a bit. "Help me understand."

"What for?" Aston countered, giving up on the book for now as her multicolored eyes studied him.

"So I don't make the same mistake twice." He said, setting the book aside for now and moving to sit on the couch beside her, as she turned to lean her back against the armrest instead.

She stared at him silently for a few minutes, before she closed her eyes with a quiet sigh, and turned away to look at the Gallifreyan on the wall across from her.

"I was angry. I've always had to take care of myself after what happened to my parents. I worked hard to get to the point where I didn't have to rely on anyone, so I'm not used to someone telling me what to do." She put her chin in her hand, leaning her elbow on the armrest; still not looking his way. "Emotionless or not, it should be obvious I have trust issues."

The Doctor was quiet, thinking over what she'd said, before speaking. "You came with me rather easily."

Aston scoffed, but not in a rude way, more like a bitter chuckle. "Doesn't mean I trust you." She finally glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "No offense."

The Doctor shook his head with a small smile, not offended in the slightest. He didn't completely trust her either, after all.

Aston looked away again. "I came with you, because you answered my questions and gave me a good offer. See the universe, meet aliens, learn about new cultures. Or keep digging holes for the rest of my life. Something similar, but not as... interesting. Not like there's anything back home for me to miss..." She shrugged then, getting up and heading to her desk; picking up a book and holding it out towards him. "Here. The Tardis just made it show up on my desk."

The Doctor got up and took it from her, flipping it over to look at the cover in slight surprise.

"I didn't look at it any more." Aston said, flopping back onto her bed with her hands behind her head as the Doctor lowered the Gallifreyan book. "Figured it'd be best to leave your business alone. Should've asked the first time."

"No, I..." The Doctor's eyes shifted to the book again, but quickly went back to Aston. "I would like to teach you, actually."

Aston pushed herself up onto her elbows and raised a brow. "Now, why is it I don't believe that? Because when you found me with those books earlier, you weren't happy. And don't tell me you were fine. Because I've spent _years_ learning to see past facades like yours." She sat up fully, actually unnerving the Doctor with how she seemed to look right through him. "Tardis permission or not, I was prying into something personal. And I'm sorry about that."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it's fine. You didn't know."

"But I did." She said, startling the Doctor. "I knew the moment you saw those words on my wall, that there was something about your language that made it personal to you. And trying to learn more about your species and how your body works was a stupid idea as well. Everyone's body is personal to them and I should have asked you before I did what I did. I am truly sorry for prying after I gave my word, and I am more than willing to back off. Which is why I am suspicious of your reasoning behind wanting to suddenly teach me." She frowned then, gaze deadly serious. "I do _not_ want you to bend to my wishes just because you pity me."

The Doctor furrowed his brows in confusion. "Pity you? I'm not offering to do this because I pity you."

Aston didn't look convinced. "I told you something personal about myself. I told you about my parents dying. Now you feel compelled to reciprocate that by giving me something personal."

"That's not—"

" _Or_ , Amy spoke with you and you are trying to make up for the argument we had. Which I find very stupid, because you had every right to be angry, just as I did."

The Doctor's eyes flickered over Aston's form in puzzlement. He couldn't figure out why she was so suspicious of him. Was it so wrong that he wanted to—not only make up for the argument and their discussion about her parents (as she had guessed)—but to offer her a piece of his life to share? It was not only about her. As selfish as it sounds, the Doctor _wanted_ someone to share this with. He wanted to be able to speak his language again with someone who would be able to understand and speak it in return. Even if they were only writing it and not speaking. He wanted to share that with her. That was his biggest reason. He just wanted company. And who better to share that with him, than someone who was also alone? Not in the same sense, but he and Aston were very similar. And, while he still had no idea what made him feel so connected with her, there was a pull towards her that made him want to be able to share his life and experiences with her and vice versa.

"Aston." He moved closer slightly, determined. "While both of those reasons are a part of why I want to teach you, they are not the main reason."

"Then why?" She asked, eyes laced with something vaguely resembling childish innocence and curiosity. "Why offer me something so personal that the mere _sight_ of it upset you?"

"Because..." He hesitated, but only for a second. "Because there is something about you that is special to me, and I _want_ to share my life with you. Share my language and my culture and everything about myself and my species. You are... You are so similar to me and I have never felt a connection like this with anyone else. I _want_ to teach you, Aston. Please. Let me."

Aston eyed him warily for a moment, the room completely silent as she thought over his offer and studied him. Finally, after what seemed like hours to the Doctor, she spoke.

"Alright. I won't stop you, if you want to teach me." She agreed, before turning around and moving towards the door. "But you might want to word that better next time. If Amy was listening in, she might have thought it was a confession or something."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open as his minds went over what he'd just said and a heat traveled up to his cheeks. He wanted to argue that he wasn't even attempting to make it sound like a confession, but as he replayed what he'd just said in his head, he realized that that was _exactly_ what it sounded like. Aston heard his silence and her lip twitched up in a small smirk as she looked at him from over her shoulder.

"You're going to catch flies, Doctor."

He suddenly quickly his mouth shut as he was snapped out of the stupor he was in and couldn't help but be slightly glad that he'd managed to get a hint of emotion out of Aston.

"Come on, then." She said, waving a hand nonchalantly over her shoulder. "Amy's getting restless. You should probably get back to showing me the 'wonders of the universe' or whatever you want to call it."

"Right!" He said, rushing out the door behind her. "Where to first? Oh! We can go to Halcyon! It's like a second Mars with color-changing flowers and coral trees! Or, we can go see the Aqubi! They're kind of like alien centaurs!"

"Whatever you pick, Doctor." Aston said with a hum, and they gathered up Amy and Rory, before heading off, not knowing what kind of trouble they were going to get into.


End file.
